People aged 50 and above may get second Covid-19 booster shot at vaccination centres offering mRNA jabs: MOH

SINGAPORE — People aged 50 to 59 who want to get their second Covid-19 booster shot may do so from Friday (June 10) at any vaccination centre offering mRNA vaccines, said the Ministry of Health (MOH).

The ministry previously announced on April 22 that those aged 60 to 79 will be allowed to take their second Covid-19 booster dose about five months after receiving their first booster dose if they wish to. 

Since then, the expert committee on Covid-19 vaccination has assessed that people aged 50 to 59 who wish to take their second booster may also do so about five months after their first booster shot. 

“This is in view of data indicating that the risk of severe Covid-19 increases in the age group of 50 to 59 as well,” said MOH. "This is also around the age when chronic diseases start to set in."

The ministry also announced that from July 1, medically vulnerable people with specific health conditions such as chronic diseases of the heart and lungs may self-declare their conditions to receive their second booster by walking into any vaccination centres, Public Health Preparedness Clinics (PHPCs) and polyclinics that offer vaccinations. 

“To facilitate their vaccination, they will no longer require a doctor’s referral to receive their second booster,” said MOH. 

Other medically vulnerable people will continue to be able to receive the second booster by providing a referral memo from their treating doctors. 

More details on the template of the self-declaration form will be announced in the coming weeks via MOH’s website, the Health Ministry added. 

As for people who are taking their first two doses of their Covid-19 vaccines, MOH encouraged them to book their doses eight weeks apart. 

“Recent international data has shown that a wider gap of eight weeks between the initial two doses of Covid-19 primary series vaccinations may provide better vaccine protection for individuals,” said the ministry. 

The current minimum interval between the first two doses will continue to be 21 days for the Pfizer-BioNTech Comirnaty and Novavax/Nuvaxovid vaccines, and 28 days for the Moderna/Spikevax and Sinovac-CoronaVac vaccines.

“This helped to expedite early protection against Covid-19 during the acute phase of the pandemic,” said MOH. 

However, those who need to complete their primary series sooner, particularly those who are at risk of exposure to the virus or more susceptible to severe disease, may opt for a shorter interval between the two doses, as long as it is not below the minimum interval, MOH added. CNA