Covid-19: Walk-ins for vaccine or booster to open for all at vaccination centres daily before 7pm

SINGAPORE — From Thursday (March 17), members of the public of any age who are eligible to get vaccinated against Covid-19 may do so on any day of the week before 7pm, without having to book an appointment.

In a joint statement late on Wednesday, the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education and Early Childhood Development Agency said that this applies to those who are doing their primary vaccination series as well as those taking the booster shot.

This latest change means that children aged five to 11 may walk in with their parents or guardians to any paediatric vaccination centre to receive their vaccination doses. Before this, the window for this group of children was Mondays to Thursdays before 7pm.

Similarly, teenagers aged 12 to 17 may walk in to any vaccination centre offering the Pfizer-BioNTech or Comirnaty vaccine to receive their primary vaccination series and booster dose.

The authorities added that anyone aged 18 and above may walk into any vaccination centres offering the messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccines to get their primary vaccination series and booster dose.

“We invite individuals and parents or guardians to take full advantage of the capacity and good geographical spread of our vaccination centres, before more (of them) are closed down in the coming weeks," they said.

PAEDIATRIC COVID-19 VACCINATION

Giving on update on the paediatric vaccination rate here, the authorities said that about 250,000 children aged between five and 11 have signed up for their Covid-19 vaccination as of March 13.

Some 444,000 Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered, with 248,000 children receiving at least their first dose, while 196,000 have received their second dose.

Among the students in primary schools, 83 per cent of them have received at least their first dose, while 69 per cent have been fully vaccinated.

In addition, more than 29,000 children born in 2016 and 2017 have registered on MOH’s National Appointment System. For this cohort, 28,000 have received at least their first dose, while 17,000 have received their second dose.

The authorities noted that parents or guardians who may have missed their children's second-dose appointment may rebook the appointment or go with their child or ward to the same paediatric vaccination centre on any day before 7pm to complete the vaccination series.

“Should the paediatric vaccination centre no longer be in operation, parents or guardians may take their child or ward to any (other) paediatric vaccination centres for their second dose.

“We strongly encourage children to complete both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine,” they said.

They stressed that children aged between five and 11 must be accompanied by one parent or guardian for their vaccination.

Children who have an official record of the coronavirus infection would be considered fully vaccinated after receiving a single dose of the vaccine after the infection.

“Children who had recovered from Covid-19 and have yet to complete their primary vaccination series are recommended to receive a single dose of the vaccine at least three months after the date of their infection to complete their vaccination.

“(Those) who tested positive on a self-administered antigen rapid test, or via rapid tests not done at an approved test provider, would not have an official record of his or her infection. These children would need to receive two doses of the vaccine to be considered fully vaccinated. It is safe for them to do so,” the authorities said.

UPDATE ON VACCINE BOOSTERS

The Government said that 70 per cent of the total population here have received their booster dose as of Tuesday.

MOH and the expert committee on Covid-19 vaccination had earlier recommended everyone aged 12 and above to receive a booster dose of an mRNA vaccine offered under the national vaccination programme five months after completing their primary vaccination series.

“They are considered fully vaccinated for 270 days after the last dose of their primary vaccination series, and will require a booster dose to maintain their vaccinated status thereafter.”

They added that those aged between 12 and 17 will need the consent of their parent or guardian to get the booster shot. They will also need to bring a signed hard or soft copy of the parental consent form to get the booster jab.

Parents or guardians of older children are not required to accompany them on the day of vaccination.

“However, children aged 12 will need to be accompanied by a parent or guardian, as per the arrangements for the primary vaccination series.”