Covid-19 vaccination to be offered to those 39 and below by mid-June; deemed safe for pregnant women
VACCINATION against Covid-19 will now be offered to groups of people who were earlier excluded - such as pregnant women - and should be available to the general public aged 39 and younger by the middle of June.
Singapore's expert committee on Covid-19 vaccination has reviewed the global and local data and revised its guidance accordingly, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung, co-chair of the multi-ministry taskforce on Covid-19, at a press conference on Monday.
Based on real-world clinical data as Covid-19 vaccination is rolled out to pregnant women abroad, "there is currently no evidence to suggest that the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna Covid-19 vaccines may cause harm to pregnant women or their babies", said the Ministry of Health (MOH).
But as the amount of data on this group is still relatively small, pregnant women should discuss the risks and benefits with their doctors to make an informed decision, it added.
From June 4, pregnant women may choose to register and book a vaccination appointment, if they are part of the population that is eligible. It is also safe for breastfeeding women to be vaccinated.
Cancer patients on active cancer treatment can also be vaccinated, but should do so in a hospital setting after assessment by their treating specialists. Guidelines on vaccination for such patients are being finalised, with updates to come.
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It is now also deemed safe for persons with Severe Cutaneous Adverse Reactions to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines.
The expert committee is also reviewing the safety data on persons with a history of anaphylaxis. The review is to be completed in the next two weeks, and the committee will set out guidelines allowing certain persons who have had a previous history of anaphylaxis - in reaction to substances other than those used in mRNA vaccines - to be vaccinated safely.
"We will continue to review the data on other types of vaccines and explore bringing in safe and efficacious vaccines that are suitable for individuals not recommended to receive the mRNA-based vaccines," said the MOH.
To make it easier for older residents to get vaccinated, all vaccination centres in the community - but not polyclinics, due to limited capacity - will now accept walk-ins for individuals aged 60 or above. No advance registration or appointment will be needed.
From June 1, over 400,000 students from schools and institutes of higher learning will be invited to be vaccinated.
If vaccine supplies continue to arrive as scheduled, vaccination should be able to be made available to the rest of the population - adults aged 39 and below - in the middle of June.
Singapore citizens will be invited to register and make appointments two weeks before the chance is made available to others in this age group.
Mr Ong also gave an update on Singapore's vaccination efforts so far. As at May 30, more than four million doses have been administered. Close to 2.3 million individuals have received the first dose, of whom 1.7 million have also received the second.
Illustrating the protective effect of the vaccine, Mr Ong noted that of recent cases, 8 per cent of unvaccinated individuals developed serious disease. In contrast, only one of out 93 vaccinated individuals - slightly over 1 per cent - developed serious disease, and had been ill even before infection.
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