Those with 2 doses of Sinovac can walk in to selected vaccination centres for third jab: MOH

SINGAPORE — Individuals who have taken their first two doses of the Sinovac-CoronaVac vaccine can now walk into selected vaccination centres for their third dose of the vaccine to complete their primary series, without prior appointment, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Friday (Dec 24).

This follows the ministry's announcement Dec 2 that those who have taken two doses of Sinovac-CoronaVac are strongly encouraged to take their third dose of the vaccine before Dec 31, as long as three months have passed from their second dose.

There are currently about 29,000 individuals who are due for their third dose, after having received two doses of the Sinovac-CoronaVac, MOH said.

They are strongly recommended to receive a mRNA vaccine for their third dose unless medically ineligible to do so, the ministry added, noting that this will help maintain the protection from the vaccine, as antibody levels from the Sinovac-CoronaVac vaccine declines rapidly within three to six months after completion of the second dose.

Emerging international data indicates that while the mRNA vaccines, especially with booster vaccination, are protective against the Omicron variant, the Sinovac-CoronaVac and Sinopharm vaccines result in weaker neutralising activity and may not be protective, MOH said.

Taking the remaining dose of the three-dose primary regime will maintain the individual’s fully vaccinated status. Beyond this time interval, the individual’s vaccination status will revert to ‘additional dose needed’ and they will be subject to the current Vaccination-Differentiated Safe Management Measures if they do not do so.

This would mean not being able to dine in at food establishments including food courts and hawker centres and being denied entry into places such as malls, cinemas and gyms.

Individuals who have taken the Sinovac-CoronaVac vaccine as their first two doses can now walk into the following vaccination centres for their third dose to complete their primary series:

• Vaccination centres offering the Moderna vaccine
• Vaccination centres offering the Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty vaccine, if they are aged 60 years and older
• Raffles City Convention Centre, which offers the Sinovac-CoronaVac vaccine, and takes walk-ins until Dec 31.

Additionally, MOH said that from Dec 27, three vaccination centres – Bishan Community Club, Canberra Community Club, and Tanjong Pagar Community Club – will begin administering the Moderna vaccine, in addition to the currently available Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty vaccine.

Individuals who have booked a slot for either vaccine brands at any of these vaccination centres via the National Appointment System are required to keep to their bookings and chosen vaccine type.