As newer variants of the coronavirus emerge, the Government has been encouraging more residents to get inoculated with bivalent vaccines as they confer more protection.
However, such vaccines are currently only available to segments of the community who are at higher risk of falling severely ill from Covid-19.
On Thursday (20 Oct), Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said that the ministry plans to invite residents aged 18 to 49 to receive these vaccines by the end of the year.
This will happen as Singapore secures more supplies of the vaccine.
Responding to Parliamentary Questions by MPs Joan Pereira and Jamus Lim, Mr Ong revealed the Ministry of Health (MOH)’s plans to make bivalent vaccines available for younger folks.
Specifically, MOH is “planning to invite those aged between 18 and 49 for vaccination later in the year”.
This will happen as Singapore secures more vaccine supplies.
Mr Ong said that the bivalent version of the Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty vaccine is slated to be available by end-2022.
It will join its Moderna/Spikevax counterpart, which was rolled out last Friday (14 Oct).
For now, Mr Ong said MOH is prioritising residents above the age of 50. This is because they’re at a higher risk of falling severely ill from Covid-19.
He recommends those who are eligible and have recently recovered from Covid-19 to receive the bivalent vaccine three months after their infection.
Currently, the bivalent Moderna/Spikevax vaccine is available to those above the age of 50 who received their last vaccine dose within five months to a year ago.
It is also available to people who have yet to achieve “minimum protection”.
In an earlier Facebook post, Mr Ong defined “minimum protection” as having been infected and received two mRNA shots.
Source: Ong Ye Kung on Facebook
Originally available from 17 Oct, the date was pushed forward to 14 Oct.
This was to provide protection to more people during a period when Omicron XBB cases were on the rise.
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Featured image adapted from Ong Ye Kung on Facebook.
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