Singapore residents of age 50 and above can take second booster: COVID-19 committee

SINGAPORE — Singapore residents who are aged 50 and above can now get a second COVID-19 vaccine booster, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Friday (10 June).

This is among the latest vaccination recommendations by the Expert Committee on COVID-19 Vaccination (EC19V).

Persons aged 50 years and above who wish to receive their second booster may do so by walking into any vaccination centre offering mRNA vaccines.

The authorities previously announced on 22 April that persons aged 60 to 79 years will be allowed to take their second booster about five months after receiving their first booster.

Since then, EC19V has assessed that those aged 50 to 59 years who wish to take their second booster may also do so about five months after their first booster. “This is in view of data indicating that the risk of severe COVID-19 increases in the age group of 50 to 59 as well. This is also around the age when chronic diseases start to set in,” MOH said.

In addition, the authorities are also recommending a longer interval between primary series vaccination doses.

The recommended dosing intervals between the first two doses of a COVID-19 primary vaccination series had been set at 21 to 28 days depending on the vaccine used.

The current minimum interval between the first two doses is 21 days for the Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty and Novavax/Nuvaxovid vaccines and 28 days for Moderna/Spikevax and Sinovac-CoronaVac vaccines.

There is now more evidence that a longer interval between the first two doses of the primary vaccination series may offer better immune response and vaccine effectiveness, according to EC19V.

“EC19V is thus now recommending for the dosing interval to be extended to eight weeks between the first two doses of the primary vaccination series for all COVID-19 vaccines available under the National Vaccination Programme, for those who have yet to be vaccinated with their primary vaccination series.”

EC19V said that for those who need to complete their primary series sooner – particularly those who are at risk of exposure to COVID-19 or more susceptible to severe disease – may choose a shorter interval between the two doses as long as it is not below the minimum interval.

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