If Covid-19 vaccines for children between the ages of five and 11 arrive as scheduled, the booking of vaccination appointments will open up progressively from next week, said Education Minister Chan Chun Sing.

The immunisation exercise will then start from the end of December for children in Primary 3 to 5, and early next year for the younger ones, Mr Chan said on Tuesday (Dec 14).

“We are awaiting confirmation of the date of arrival of the paediatric doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty vaccine that are specifically for children aged between 5 and 11 years old, so that we can finalise our plans to offer Covid-19 vaccination to all eligible children,” Mr Chan wrote on social network Facebook.

"We will give an update when details of the delivery are confirmed."

The vaccine shots would be offered to more than 300,000 children in this age group, including those who are long-term pass holders in Singapore.

Last week, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said that the authorities had approved the use of such Covid-19 vaccine doses for children here.

The ministry said that the national Covid-19 task force had accepted the recommendation by MOH's expert committee on Covid-19 vaccination.

The committee assessed that the benefits of the Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty vaccine outweigh the risks when used in a paediatric dosage for children aged between five and 11, especially given continuing community transmission of the coronavirus and the emergence of the Omicron strain.

It added that children with moderate to severe chronic medical conditions would be prioritised for access to the vaccine.

The recommended dosage for children aged five to 11 is one-third of that used in persons aged 12 and older.

Mr Chan said that his ministry was working closely with MOH and the Early Childhood Development Agency to get ready for the vaccination exercise.

“As more of our children get vaccinated, we would be able to resume more learning activities, sports and games, which are critical to their physical, cognitive and socio-emotional well-being and development,” he said.

Source:
courtesy of TODAY

by NATASHA MEAH

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