The bivalent Moderna/Spikevax Covid-19 vaccine will be offered to healthcare workers in the public and private sectors from Oct 25.

"This is to protect and support our healthcare workers who are at higher risk of exposure to Covid-19," said the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Friday (Oct 21).

It added that the bivalent vaccine is recommended for eligible healthcare workers aged 18 and above, if they had received at least three doses of mRNA vaccine/Nuvaxovid or four doses of Sinovac-CoronaVac more than five months ago.

Eligible healthcare workers may walk in to any of the nine Joint Testing and Vaccination Centres (JTVCs) offering the Moderna/Spikevax vaccines to get the jab.

They will be required to produce a valid staff pass for identification at the JTVCs.

Those without passes may produce a memo bearing the company or organisation’s letterhead or official stamp as proof, said MOH.

"Separate arrangements may be made by the respective healthcare institutions to provide in-house vaccination to facilitate those who are not able to visit the JTVCs due to work exigencies," said the ministry.

The bivalent vaccine was first rolled out on Oct 14 to people who have not achieved minimum protection, or those aged 50 and above who received their last dose more than five months ago.

As of Thursday, more than 28,000 people have either booked an appointment for the jab or have received the Moderna/Spikevax vaccine, said MOH.

"Vaccination remains our primary defence against severe illness due to Covid-19, and we encourage all eligible persons to take the bivalent vaccine when they are able to do so," the ministry added.

On Thursday, Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung said that Singapore plans to invite people aged between 18 and 49 to take their Covid-19 bivalent vaccines later in the year as more supplies are secured.

According to Mr Ong, bivalent vaccines provide better protection against newer Covid-19 variants compared to the original vaccines.

The bivalent Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty vaccine is expected to be available in Singapore by the end of the year.

Children aged six months to four years can begin to receive their primary vaccination with the Moderna/Spikevax vaccine from Oct 25.

Those aged between five and 11 will be able to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty vaccine as a booster dose. CAN

Source:
courtesy of TODAY

by Today Online

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