Mr Ong clarified on Sunday that while anyone who has previously had an infection and two injections of mRNA vaccines has minimal protection, those people should not consider an infection as a substitute for a dose of vaccine.
“To stay current on COVID-19 vaccination, if you are 50 years of age or older and have achieved minimum protection, you should receive an additional dose within five months to one year of the last dose of the vaccine,” he said. .
Addressing concerns around the updated bivalent dose targeting the original SARS-CoV-2 strain and the Omicron BA.1 variant, Mr Ong said clinical studies have shown the dose has the same profile of safety than the original Moderna/Spikevax mRNA vaccine.
The original vaccine was administered more than three million times in Singapore, he noted.
“Serious adverse events have been reported in approximately six out of 100,000 vaccines, and all have recovered or are recovering,” Ong said, adding that the Health Sciences Authority has reported a decreasing rate of such events with subsequent vaccines. .
This means that fewer people have adverse reactions after taking booster doses compared to taking them as part of the primary series.
Those thinking of skipping the second booster injection and taking the bivalent dose instead should do so, Mr Ong said.
“Basically, we have stopped counting the reinforcements,” he added.
The Moderna/Spikevax bivalent vaccine will be available at all joint testing and vaccination centers from October 17.
MODERN/SPIKEVAX VACCINE FOR YOUNG CHILDREN
On the other hand, Mr. Ong assured the public that it is safe to vaccinate children aged six months to five years with the Moderna/Spikevax vaccine, which will be available to them as a primary vaccination.
He added that serious adverse events are rare, and no cases of anaphylaxis or pericarditis/myocarditis were observed in the clinical trial.
“Common side effects (such as pain at the injection site, fatigue, headache) were observed less frequently than in adults and disappear within two to three days,” said the Minister of Health.
Singapore will start offering COVID-19 vaccines for children between the ages of six months and four years from October 25, the Health Ministry said on Friday.
The recommended dose of the Moderna/Spikevax vaccine for this age group is two doses of 25 micrograms each, eight weeks apart.
“The Pfizer BioNTech/Comirnaty vaccine, which is a three-dose vaccine for children aged six months to four years, has also been approved and we are awaiting its delivery. It should be available by the end of the year,” the Health Ministry added.
The Pfizer/Comirnaty bivalent vaccine is under evaluation and is expected to be available later this year, the ministry said.
The Ministry of Health also said in the press release that all measures other than vaccination against COVID-19 will be lifted from October 10, and that there will no longer be restrictions on dining in restaurants, nightlife establishments and events. with more than 500 participants.
