When Novavax approved for use ah?
By the way, those ginna pih bo daiji after jabs hor?
@SOS any insights?
Looks like Jan 3 decision was about boosters after 270 days expiry.
Brother, I share with you some info shared by healthcare people in their chat group. Bear in mind that many healthcare workers are not getting third jab or used non-mRNA alternatives.
Advanced FAQs for COVID-19 Boosters
1. What is the safest COVID-19 technology and risks associated with it?
Protein-Subunit, eg Novavax
- For those who took two doses of mRNA vaccines earlier, Novavax's efficacy as a booster is almost as good as Pfizer.
- Protein-Based technology is a matured technology.
- Novavax is very new, since all COVID-19 vaccines are insufficiently tested, it is safer to consider a vaccine that 6-9 months after launched.
Viral-Vector, eg J&J, AZ
- Viral-Vector technology offers longer protection than mRNA vaccines.
- Recent data in US and Europe indicates that they offer similar level of protection against Omicron.
- After being launched for a 1-2 years, it had been established that they are less suitable for young population, younger females.
Inactivated-Virus, eg. Sinopharm, Sinovac, Valneva
- France's Valneva is expected to be launch in first quarter of 2022. Trial results indicate 95% efficacy.
- Sinopharm 78-79%, Sinovac 51-52%
- Inactivated-Virus technology is well-established, adverse side-effects from these vaccines are the lowest among other WHO recognized vaccines.
2. What COVID-19 Vaccines are accepted by MOH as Boosters?
- MOH recommends Singaporeans who are vaccinated with mRNA vaccines to use mRNA Boosters. However, Pfizer and Moderna had confirmed the efficacy wanes in 2-3 months.
- Full Regimen refers to Dual doses of Pfizer/Moderna and Triple doses of Sinopharm & Sinovac.
- As of 1st Jan 2022, MOH accepts all approved-vaccines (Pfizer, Moderna, Sinovac & Sinopharm) as valid Boosters for all those who completed Full Regimen.
3. What is the validity after taking the Booster vaccines?
The latest 270 days validity guidelines refers to Full Regimen. This is not applicable for Boosters and there is no decision made for boosters' validity period.
My biased opinions:
For Covid-19 vaccine guidelines, the most transparent governments are South Korea and Japan. Due to MOH's bias towards Pfizer & Moderna, our local press intentionally not clarifies that Sinovac and Sinopharm are acceptable boosters. If MOH don't recognize Sinovac or Sinopharm as boosters, China will probably ban all flights from Singapore.
If we have the luxury of time, newer vaccine-technologies such as Valneva and T-cell vaccines will offer safer and longer protections. Moreover, vaccinations do not prevent us from COVID-19 infections. However, we are now forced to take boosters, therefore my personal take is to take the safest option, just to clock the mileage so that we will not lose our jobs.