Singapore to delay second dose of Covid-19 vaccine to get shots into more arms

SINGAPORE'S entire eligible population should get at least partial Covid-19 vaccination by early August, as the Ministry of Health (MOH) doubles the time between each dose to "help protect more Singaporeans and optimise our vaccine supply".

The extended dosing interval could get shots into the arms of an extra 400,000 people by end-July, once the change takes effect for bookings made on or after May 19.

That is also when vaccine eligibility will be opened to those aged between 40 and 44 years old, the MOH announced on Tuesday. The ministry added that Singapore remains on track for its end-2021 deadline to fully vaccinate the population.

Covid-19 multi-ministry taskforce co-chair Lawrence Wong, who is also the Finance Minister, noted that Singapore's vaccine roll-out is not limited to age-based cohorts. "Separately, we've had an education track, where we've looked at teachers, staff, students," he said, adding that the distribution of vaccines to the population is moving along a parallel track.

The authorities have also green-lit the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for children aged 12 to 15, although this age group is still not a priority for jabs. Previously, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was approved in Singapore for those aged at least 16; the Moderna vaccine was approved for those 18 and over.

The MOH said in a statement, even as it cited the constraints of "our finite vaccine supplies": "We will be prioritising first doses of the vaccines for more people, and speeding up our vaccination programme in order to protect more Singaporeans."

A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU

Friday, 8.30 am

Asean Business

Business insights centering on South-east Asia's fast-growing economies.

Sign Up

The ministry will thus extend the interval between doses, from three or four weeks to six to eight weeks, for the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna two-dose vaccines.

This change does not affect those who are already registered for their second dose, although individuals who wish to give up their vaccination slots to others can do so.

The latest tweak "will enable us to cover more people with the first dose of the vaccine more quickly, who will then have some protection", said MOH.

It added that Singapore's Expert Committee on COVID-19 Vaccination has concluded that the longer timeline will not materially affect recipients' eventual immune response, based on trial data and the experience of countries such as Britain and Germany.

By the start of this week, Singapore had administered more than 3.4 million vaccine doses, with more than 1.4 million individuals already fully vaccinated. By the end of July, a total of 4.3 million people in the city-state would have received one or both doses.

The MOH called the take-up rate encouraging. About 71 per cent of eligible seniors aged 60 and above, as well as 66 per cent of eligible adults aged 45 to 59 have either received or registered for vaccinations.

The ministry is now also working with the Health Promotion Board and Agency for Integrated Care to deploy home vaccination teams to home-bound individuals.

Read more:

• Ministry of Health rubbishes claims of a ‘Singapore variant’ that would cause third Covid wave in India