Expert Committee on COVID-19 Vaccination Updates Recommendations on COVID-19 Vaccination for Unvaccinated Individuals

The Expert Committee on COVID-19 Vaccination (EC19V) now recommends that immunocompetent individuals who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 should receive two initial vaccine doses at an interval of eight weeks apart. 

2. Previously, individuals who had not been vaccinated against COVID-19 were recommended to receive three initial vaccine doses (Moderna/Spikevax, Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty, Novavax/Nuvaxovid) or four initial vaccine doses (Sinovac-CoronaVac) to achieve minimum protection.

3. At this time, most individuals have already had one or more prior infections with COVID-19 and have some protection even if unvaccinated. A sequence of two vaccine doses will be sufficient to ensure an essential level of protection for unvaccinated persons.

4. Therefore, EC19V now recommends that individuals who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 receive two initial vaccine doses at an interval of eight weeks apart. Thereafter, they should receive any additional doses being offered or recommended to them based on prevailing recommendations, taking into account their age, medical conditions and other factors.

5. An additional dose of an updated vaccine for 2024 continues to be recommended, and it should be administered around 1 year (and no earlier than 5 months) after the last dose received. The additional dose is:

a. Recommended for all persons aged 60 years and above, medically vulnerable individuals and residents of aged care facilities;

b. Encouraged for all individuals aged 6 months and above, especially healthcare workers, as well as household members and caregivers of medically vulnerable individuals.

6. EC19V encourages all individuals to ensure that they are vaccinated for COVID-19 to be better protected against it. 

EXPERT COMMITTEE ON COVID-19 VACCINATION
29 FEBRUARY 2024