COVID-19: Bivalent vaccine to be available to those aged 12 and above from Monday
SINGAPORE — From next Monday (12 December), bivalent Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty COVID-19 vaccines will be available for persons aged 12 and above, to provide better protection against the Omicron variants of the coronavirus.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) said in a media release on Tuesday that this follows the recommendation from the Expert Committee on COVID-19 Vaccination (EC19V) to switch from monovalent to bivalent vaccines for both primary and booster vaccination for those who fall in the age group.
With the extension of the bivalent vaccine to those aged 12 years and above, persons aged 12 to 17 years old should also receive an additional bivalent vaccine dose around five months after their last booster dose.
The bivalent vaccines are available at all current Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty vaccination locations. Those who are eligible will receive an SMS with a personalised booking link to make an appointment at their preferred location.
Those who have already booked an appointment to receive the monovalent vaccine may choose to re-schedule their appointments to a new date on or after 12 December, in order to receive the updated bivalent vaccine.
Mobile vaccination teams for seniors' convenience
MOH has also accepted EC19V’s recommendation that the Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty vaccine may be used for the primary vaccination series for children aged six months to four years old, as an alternative to the Moderna/Spikevax vaccine for this age group.
The primary vaccination series consists of three doses, each given eight weeks apart. The ministry will announce more details on the rollout at a later date.
MOH also said that there are still close to 40,000 eligible senior residents who have not yet achieved minimum COVID-19 protection. Therefore, to make it more convenient for the seniors, the ministry is deploying mobile vaccination teams to a number of heartland locations from next Monday.
The locations are: Bukit Panjang Zone 3 RC, Chua Chu Kang CC, Hong Kah North CC, Kampong Chai Chee CC, Leng Kee CC, Potong Pasir Zone 3 RC, Teck Ghee CC and Toa Payoh Central CC.
The mobile vaccination teams will be deployed at each site for three days before moving on to the next location. The public may visit this website for the deployment schedule.
Walk-ins at JTVCs only for persons aged 50 and above
To avoid overcrowding the Joint Testing and Vaccination Centres (JTVCs), MOH will facilitate walk-ins only for persons aged 50 years and above, as well as healthcare workers.
With higher demand for vaccines, they are advised to go during the less crowded hours from Mondays to Thursdays before 6.30pm, and on Saturdays after 2pm.
Walk-ins should be avoided during peak periods of Friday and Saturday morning. Polyclinics will continue to accept walk-ins only for persons aged 80 years and above.
JTVCs are also open from 9am to 7pm on Saturday till end of December. Please visit this website to locate the nearest JTVC.
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