Vaccination has been Singapore’s biggest defence against Covid-19 since Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines were approved this year.
However, there are groups of people that are medically ineligible to take these vaccines and have been patiently awaiting alternatives.
That day has come.
The government announced on Saturday (30 Oct) that it’ll offer the Sinovac-CoronaVac vaccine at Raffles City Convention Centre.
Seniors can walk in without an appointment from today (31 Oct).
Following the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) authorising the Sinovac vaccine under the Pandemic Special Access Route, the government will make it available free of charge.
Those who haven’t taken any Covid-19 vaccine yet can register their interest at www.vaccine.gov.sg.
They’ll then receive an SMS with a booking link that they can use to make an appointment at either Raffles City Convention Centre or one of 11 Public Health Preparedness Clinics, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said.
If you’ve taken at least one Sinovac dose at a private clinic, you can continue to do so and proceed to book remaining appointments at these clinics if they haven’t already.
Those who were medically ineligible for mRNA vaccines and were invited to receive Sinovac under a public health programme should follow the SMS instructions sent to them accordingly.
MOH also noted that seniors aged 60 years and above can walk in without a prior appointment at Raffles City to get their jab from today.
This is regardless of if they’ve gotten no jabs or at least one jab.
They will not have to register for interest or make an appointment, which should allow seniors to be protected quicker than if they needed to wait for one.
Although the majority are eligible for mRNA vaccines, there are those who are either ineligible or would prefer to wait for a non-mRNA vaccine.
It’s good that Sinovac has been approved for public use, and for free too.
Now, more can be protected even as cases surge. The possibility of serious disease and death can be reduced with any vaccine.
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Featured image adapted from Fullerton Health.
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