From 1 December 2021, the Ministry of Health has been progressively sending out SMS notifications to about 70,000 persons [1] who have taken two doses of the Sinovac-CoronaVac or Sinopharm vaccines and aredue for the remaining dose of their three-dose regime. These persons are eligible for their third dose from three months after their second dose.
2. To maintain their fully vaccinated status from 1 January 2022 onwards,they are strongly encouraged to take their third dose before 31 December 2021, as long as their second dose had been administered three months ago. Beyond this time interval, the individual’s vaccination status will revert to ‘additional dose needed’ and will be subject to the current Vaccination-Differentiated Safe Management Measures (VDS) [2],as well as the Workforce Vaccination Measures, both of which will take effect on 1 January 2022. Individuals should bear in mind the following:
a) Individuals who have already received two doses of Sinovac-CoronaVac or Sinopharm vaccines are strongly recommended to receive a PSAR-authorised mRNA vaccine for their third dose unless they are medically ineligible to do so. They can walk into any vaccination centre offering the mRNA vaccines to receive their third dose. The list of vaccination centre offering mRNA vaccines can be found on www.vaccine.gov.sg/locations-vcs.
b) Otherwise, they should complete their primary series with a third dose of the Sinovac-CoronaVac or Sinopharm vaccines, whichever was received for the first two doses. The Sinovac-CoronaVac vaccine can be taken at any of the PSAR-authorised private clinics. The list of PSAR-authorised private clinics can be found on www.vaccine.gov.sg/locations.
3. Persons who developed an allergic reaction to the first dose of the mRNA vaccine and received the Sinovac-CoronaVac vaccine for their second dose should also complete a third dose of Sinovac-CoronaVac vaccine, 28 days after their second dose, to maintain their vaccination status.
4. The three-dose requirement applies to individuals who have had one dose of the Sinovac-CoronaVac or Sinopharm vaccines, as part of a two-dose combination of different World Health Organization’s Emergency Use Listing (WHO-EUL) vaccine brands [3]. Further details on the requirements for persons who have received a mixed vaccine combination incorporating Sinovac-CoronaVac or Sinopharm vaccines, as well as recovered persons who took these vaccines, can be found on https://go.gov.sg/sinovac-mixed-vac-combi.
Grace Period for Children Turning 13 in 2022 to Get Fully Vaccinated
5. As announced on 20 November 2021, the concession for unvaccinated individuals to perform a pre-event test (PET) in lieu of being fully vaccinated will be removed with effect on 1 January 2022. Hence, only fully vaccinated, recovered, or medically ineligible individuals, or children aged 12 years and below (i.e. those born in 2010 or after), will be allowed to enter settings and participate in activities where VDS are implemented [4].
6. A grace period will be extended to children born in December 2009 to allow them sufficient time to get fully vaccinated. Children born in 2009 who will turn 13 in 2022 will need to be fully vaccinated to enter venues and participate in activities with VDS from 1 March 2022 (instead of 1 January 2022).
Workforce Vaccination Measures
7. With the implementation of the Workforce Vaccination Measures from 1 January 2022, we will also phase out the “Vaccinate or Regular Test” regime for all sectors that were onboard the regime as of the same date.
8. We continue to strongly recommend persons who can take the PSAR-authorised mRNA vaccines to do so given its higher vaccine effectiveness against infection and severe disease.
MINISTRY OF HEALTH
2 DECEMBER 2021
Note: Paragraph 2 has been updated on 4 December 2021 |
[1] As of 30 November 2021.
[2] https://www.mom.gov.sg/newsroom/press-releases/2021/1023-implementation-of-workforce-vaccination-measures
[3] Excluding the Johnson & Johnson/ Janssen single-dose COVID-19 vaccine.
[4] Subject to venue and/or event-specific capacities.