Singapore — People aged 40 to 44 can register for vaccination from Wednesday (May 19) under a new vaccine roll-out plan announced by the multi-ministry task force on Covid-19 on Tuesday (May 18). The ambitious new plan aims to deliver at least the first dose of the vaccine to 4.3 million people by the end of July.
But one will have to wait longer for the second dose to ensure more people get at least the first dose.
Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat wrote in a Facebook post:
“To speed up our vaccination programme, the interval between doses will be lengthened to six to eight weeks. In addition, we will soon be rolling out vaccination for children aged 12 to 15.”
The Multi-Ministry Taskforce announced today that we will start vaccination for those aged 40 to 44. To speed up our…
Posted by Heng Swee Keat on Tuesday, 18 May 2021
Vaccination for children aged 12 to 15 will be rolled out soon, as the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) has approved the use of Pfizer BioNTech vaccine.
According to Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung, the new measures are to give the maximum number of people good protection, instead of having a good number of people getting maximum protection.
International studies show the vaccines still work if the two doses are given up to six or eight weeks apart.
Currently, they are given three to four weeks apart.
With the new approach, an estimated 700,000 people will receive the vaccine in June, and 1.3 million in July.
“By end July, 4.3 million of our population would have received at least one jab,” Mr Ong said.
Individuals who have already booked their appointment for their second dose will not be affected by the longer interval. They can also choose to defer their second shot to let another person have a shot.
“Vaccination is an important line of defence, but the wearing of masks is as important, especially since recent clusters suggest that new variants had a higher level of transmission,” Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat shared on Facebook, encouraging Singaporeans to wear reusable masks that have good filtration efficiency.
“As we combat the surge in cases, each of us can do our part to protect ourselves and our loved ones – stay home as much as possible, wear a mask at all times when you are out, and get vaccinated when it is offered to you!” he added.
Mr Ong also appealed to Singaporeans to sign up for the vaccine to help make Singapore a safer place for all.
Denise Teh is an intern at The Independent SG. /TISG