Expand All | Collapse All
Q1: If Sinovac is safe enough to be allowed for use, under the Special Access Route (SAR), why is it not part of the national vaccination programme and covered by the Vaccine Injury Financial Assistance Programme (VIFAP)?
These are two separate decisions.
For vaccines to come under the national vaccination programme, it has to go through a rigorous evaluation of its safety and efficacy. From global and local data, both the Pfizer-BioNTech/ Comirnaty and Moderna vaccines met these criteria. We are still awaiting some outstanding data on the Sinovac vaccine to complete our evaluation.
In the meantime, we will put the Sinovac vaccine under the Special Access Route, so that private providers can draw on our existing stock to administer to individuals who wish to have it.
Q2: I understand that there may be more than one strain of COVID-19. Will the vaccine cover us fully against all strains? What about the recent COVID-19 variants, will the vaccines protect against such variants or future variants?
Current evidence suggest that the Pfizer-BioNTech/ Comirnaty and Moderna’s vaccines continue to offer good protection against the various COVID-19 variants.
MOH will continue to monitor the evolving situation and global studies of vaccine efficacy against various COVID-19 variants.
Q3: I am unsure if it is medically safe for me to be vaccinated. What should I do?
MOH has put in place steps to ensure it is medically safe before you are vaccinated. Before making appointments for vaccination, you will be prompted to complete an online screening form, which contains medical questions to screen out those who are unsuitable for the current COVID-19 vaccines (i.e. Pfizer-BioNTech/ Comirnaty and Moderna). Once you have cleared the online screening, you will be invited to book your appointments for vaccination. In the event that you have booked your appointments but remain unsure if you should receive the vaccine, there will be another round of medical screening conducted at your preferred vaccination site on the day of vaccination. You may seek clarifications or further assessment with the medical professionals onsite to assist with any medical queries that you may have. If you are unsure of your allergy history, the vaccination sites are able to securely access your allergy history if required.
Alternatively, you may consult your regular doctor for advice if you should receive the COVID-19 vaccination. Please note that any charges incurred for such pre-vaccination consultation with your doctor are not covered under the COVID-19 vaccination programme. Your doctor may provide a memo on your condition which will be useful for the medical team at the vaccination site to assess your suitability for vaccination. However, the final decision as to whether you should proceed with vaccination will be made by the medical professionals at the vaccination site.
Q4: Can pregnant or breastfeeding women receive the mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine?
Internationally, a large number of pregnant and breastfeeding women have received a COVID-19 vaccination. The Expert Committee on COVID-19 Vaccination (EC19V) has examined studies done to monitor women who were vaccinated when they were pregnant, and their babies. These studies were done on women at different trimesters of pregnancy and there is no evidence to suggest that the Pfizer-BioNTech/ Comirnaty or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine may cause harm to pregnant women or their babies.
Both Pfizer-BioNTech/ Comirnaty and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines are mRNA vaccines. As mRNA vaccines are not live vaccines, they are biologically unlikely to adversely affect breastfed babies. In addition, the breast milk of vaccinated mothers may help to protect their babies from COVID-19 due to antibodies in breast milk. There have also been no vaccine-related side effects reported in the babies who were breastfed by mothers who received the vaccine while breastfeeding.
Q5: Are there different side effects that may be experienced in children?
The side effects observed in children are similar with the adult population; majority were mild to moderate which should resolve in a few days.
There is no role in pre-medicating children before the vaccination or right after if there are no side effects present.