No plans for vaccination-differentiated measures for kids aged 12 and below: MOH
Children walking home after school. Singapore is set to roll out vaccination against Covid-19 for children aged five to 11.
The Government has no plans to introduce infection controls tied to vaccination status for children aged 12 and below, Minister of Health Ong Ye Kung said on Monday (Jan 10). He was speaking in Parliament in response to questions from several Members of Parliament (MPs) who had asked about such possible regulations for children.
“This is due to a combination of reasons: Namely, children are less likely to develop severe illnesses when infected and we want to preserve, as much as possible, universal access to holistic education for children.”
Mr Ong also announced that the Government will continue to foot the medical bills for children aged 12 and below who get infected with the coronavirus, regardless of their vaccination status.
This applies to children who are Singapore citizens, permanent residents and long-term pass holders who did not travel recently.
Also speaking on the issue in Parliament, Education Minister Chan Chun Sing said that there are no plans to make vaccination mandatory for attendance at preschools or primary schools, and that the Government’s stance is to ensure that all children are able to attend school and take part in as many core activities as possible.
“As for activities beyond the core curriculum that may pose a higher risk to students, we would then have to consider if differentiated measures will be required,” Mr Chan added.
He raised the example of team sports activities under a pilot by the Ministry of Education, which only allows fully vaccinated students who have taken on-site antigen rapid tests to take part in groups of up to 10.
