SINGAPORE will start offering the Novavax vaccine against Covid-19 by end-May, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Wednesday night (May 4), after the first shipment arrived.

At the same time, the ministry announced plans to introduce joint testing and vaccination centres (JTVCs) that it said “will allow us to consolidate our resources, while ensuring testing and vaccination services remain accessible to the public”.

The Novavax vaccine will be available to those aged 18 and older at Singapore’s first JTVC, which will be located at the former Bishan Park Secondary School. It will also be available at 20 selected Public Health Preparedness Clinics, with the MOH yet to release more details.

The vaccine, which got interim authorisation from the Health Sciences Authority in February, is approved for both primary series and booster doses under the national vaccination programme.

Novavax’s vaccine, known as Nuvaxovid, is a protein-based vaccine that trains the body to recognise part of the surface of the novel coronavirus that causes Covid-19.

The MOH noted that the Novavax jab is an acceptable alternative to the mRNA vaccines by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, but added that mRNA vaccines “still remain the preferred vaccines due to their higher efficacy and the stronger immune response generated”.

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“Boosters and vaccinations remain a critical part of our Covid-19 strategy in ensuring our population is well protected against infection and severe illness. We urge all who are eligible for vaccinations and booster doses to receive them as soon as possible,” the ministry said.

Some 92 per cent of Singapore’s population has completed a full vaccination regimen against Covid-19 under the national programme, while 74 per cent has received booster shots.

Singapore reported 1,557 local Covid-19 cases and 81 imported cases on Wednesday, with 2 deaths. The Republic has recorded 1,204,184 infections since the pandemic began.