Vaccination appointments for Primary 3-5 kids available from next week

SINGAPORE — The vaccination exercise for children in Primary 3-5 is scheduled to begin from end-December 2021, while those aged five to eight will start getting their shots from early 2022, said Education Minister Chan Chun Sing on Tuesday (14 December).

In a Facebook post, Chan said that bookings for vaccination appointments will progressively open up from next week, pending confirmation of the date of arrival of the paediatric doses of the Pfizer- BioNTech/Comirnaty vaccine.

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

Last Friday, Singapore's Health Sciences Authority (HSA) approved the use of the paediatric doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children aged five to 11. The Ministry of Health (MOH) will work with the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) to roll out vaccinations for the school-going age group.

It is the first COVID-19 vaccine the HSA has granted approval for use in Singapore for those aged five to 11, said the MOH, adding that the expert committee on COVID-19 vaccines has recommended its use for the age group.

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

At a virtual press briefing on Tuesday, the multi-ministry task force on COVID-19 (MTF) was asked if children in this age group would be subjected to vaccine-differentiated safety measures. If so, would this be unfair to children whose parents had decided against vaccinating them?

In response, Health Minister and MTF co-chair Ong Ye Kung acknowledged the "pertinent questions" being asked, but added that the exact arrangements are still being worked out with the Ministry of Education. He asked those present not to "jump to conclusions".

Ong added, "In the coming few days, we will be able to answer holistically all these questions. Akan datang (Malay for coming soon)."

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