20,000 children have received their first dose of Covid-19 vaccine: Chan Chun Sing

SINGAPORE — About 20,000 children have received their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine since the national drive to inoculate five- to 11-year-olds began on Dec 27, Education Minister Chan Chun Sing said on Sunday.

Meanwhile, more than six in 10 of Primary 4 to 6 students in Ministry of Education (MOE) schools have booked their Covid-19 vaccination appointments.

"We have received about 8,600 registrations on the National Appointment System for those aged 9 to 11 who are not in our schools," Mr Chan said in a Facebook post.

"With a good vaccination rate in our primary school students, we certainly look forward to 2022 being a more normal school year for our children as we carefully consider how to safely resume more activities in the coming months."

Last month, the authorities gave the approval for children in Singapore between the ages of five and 11 to receive paediatric doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine.

Vaccination slots for Pri 1 to 3 students will open from Jan 5, while slots for all children aged five to eight will open from Jan 6.

For parents who may have questions about vaccinating their children, MOE, in collaboration with the health ministry and Early Childhood Development Agency, will be holding a webinar for parents on Jan 5, from 7.30pm to 8.30pm. The passcode to enter the webinar is 5janvac.

This is open to 3,000 participants on a first-come, first-served basis.

Mr Chan encouraged parents who have queries to attend the webinar, and to submit questions ahead of the session at https://go.gov.sg/questions5janwebinar/.