From 17 March 2022, all individuals regardless of age who are eligible for COVID-19 vaccination will be able to walk in for their primary vaccination series and booster doses without the need for an appointment every day of the week, before 7pm.
2. This means that children aged 5 to 11 years can walk in with their parents/guardians to any paediatric vaccination centre1 (VC) to receive their vaccination doses. Similarly, individuals aged 12 to 17 years may now walk in to any VC offering the Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty vaccine to receive their primary vaccination series and booster dose. Individuals aged 18 years and above may walk into any VC offering mRNA vaccines to receive their primary vaccination series and booster dose.
Update on Paediatric Vaccination for Children Aged Between 5 and 11
3. As of 13 March 2022, about a quarter million children aged between 5 to 11 have signed up for COVID-19 vaccination. 444,000 doses have been administered, with 248,000 children receiving at least their first dose, while 196,000 have received their second dose. Among the students in our primary schools, 83% have received at least their first dose, while 69% have received both doses. In addition, over 29,000 children born in 2016 and 2017 have registered on the Ministry of Health’s National Appointment System. 28,000 have received at least their first dose, while 17,000 have received their second dose.
4. For the convenience of parents/guardians of children who may have missed their second dose appointment, they can re-book their second dose vaccination appointment or walk in with their child/ward to the same paediatric VC2 where the child received their first dose on any day before 7pm3 to complete the vaccination. Should the paediatric VC no longer be in operation4, parents/guardians may bring their child/ward to any paediatric VCs for their second dose. We strongly encourage children to complete both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
5. We seek the understanding and cooperation of parents/guardians to keep to the stipulated hours for the walk-in arrangement, so that we can provide a smooth and orderly vaccination process for all our children. Parents/guardians should release any prior bookings made, if they vaccinate their child/ward under the walk-in arrangement.
6. All children aged 5 to 11 must also be accompanied by one parent/guardian at the VC for their vaccination. On the day of the vaccination, parents/guardians should bring along Student Identification, or if not available, other forms of identification (e.g. Birth Certificate/Passport/SingPass) for verification. Parents/guardians will also be required to bring a signed hard or soft copy of the parental consent form, which can be downloaded at https://go.gov.sg/parcf.
7. Children who have an official record of their COVID-19 infection would be considered fully vaccinated after receiving a single dose of the vaccine post-infection. Children who had recovered from COVID-19 and have yet to complete their primary vaccination series are recommended to receive a single dose of the vaccine at least three months after the date of their infection to complete their vaccination. Children who tested positive on a self-administered antigen rapid test (ART), or via ARTs not done at an approved test provider, would not have an official record of his/her infection. These children would need to receive two doses of the vaccine to be considered fully vaccinated. It is safe for them to do so.
Update on Booster Doses for Individuals Aged 12 and Above
8. As of 15 March 2022, 70% of the total population have received their booster dose.
9. The Ministry of Health and the Expert Committee on COVID-19 Vaccination had previously recommended for all persons aged 12 years and above to receive a booster dose of mRNA vaccine offered under the National Vaccination Programme five months after completing their primary vaccination series. They are considered fully vaccinated for 270 days after the last dose of their primary vaccination series, and will require a booster dose to maintain their vaccinated status thereafter.
10. Persons who have recovered from COVID-19 infection and completed the recommended COVID-19 vaccination may receive a booster vaccination. It is safe for them to do so. They may receive the booster dose 28 days after infection, although they are recommended to do so three months from the infection and around five months after the last dose of their primary vaccination series (whichever is later) for better effectiveness.
11. Individuals aged 12 to 17 will require the consent of their parent/guardian to receive the booster dose, and should bring along their Student Identification, or if not available, other forms of identification (e.g. Birth Certificate/Passport/SingPass) for verification purposes. All children aged 12 to 17 will also be required to bring a signed hard or soft copy of the parental consent form, which can be downloaded at https://go.gov.sg/parcf. Parents/guardians of children aged 13 and above are not required to accompany them on the day of vaccination. However, children aged 12 will need to be accompanied by a parent/guardian, as per the arrangements for the primary vaccination series.
12. We invite individuals and parents/guardians to take full advantage of the capacity and good geographical spread of our VCs, before more VCs are closed down in the coming weeks. The list of vaccination centres can be found at www.vaccine.gov.sg/locations-vcs.
MINISTRY OF HEALTH
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT AGENCY
16 MARCH 2022
[1] The paediatric VC at Yusof Ishak Secondary School (VC@YISS) has ceased all walk-in appointments for the first dose since 10 March 2022.
[2] Parents/guardians getting their child/ward vaccinated under this arrangement at VC@YISS can do so from Tuesday to Saturday before 4pm as the VC@YISS is closed on Sunday and Monday.
[3] Prior to this arrangement, children aged 5 to 11 could only walk in to any paediatric VC from Monday to Thursday before 7pm.
[4] The paediatric VCs at Nanyang Community Club (CC) and Queenstown CC were closed on 28 February 2022, while VC@YISS will cease operations on 1 April 2022.