Booster Jabs Must Be Taken Within 270 Days After Last Dose To Be Considered 'Fully Vaccinated': MOH
Those Above 60 Years Old Will Have Booster Shots Every 4 Months To Be Considered Fully Vaccinated. Song Bo Sinkie?
A vaccination centre at Bedok Community Centre.
Ng Jun SenPublished January 5, 2022
SINGAPORE — From Feb 14, a booster shot must be taken within 270 days, or nine months, of completing the primary series of the Covid-19 vaccine, for a person to maintain his status as "fully vaccinated", authorities said on Wednesday (Jan 5).
This affects those who are aged 18 and above and are eligible for the booster jab, said the ministerial task force handling Singapore's response to Covid-19.
The move comes as international studies show that boosters increase protection against infection and severe illness caused by the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, it said.
As such, Singapore's Expert Committee on Covid-19 Vaccination has recommended that those aged 18 and above get a booster shot around five months after but no later than 270 days following the last dose of their primary shots.
Presently, those who are eligible are invited to receive their booster jabs five months after their last dose.
This applies also to those who have received non-messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) Covid-19 vaccines, such as the three-dose Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines.
"For this group, most will not be due for booster for some time. We expect the Novavax vaccine, which is a non-mRNA vaccine, to be available to them as an option by then," the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in a statement.
For example, someone who has completed their primary vaccination on June 1 last year would become eligible for a booster shot five months later, or Nov 1, 2021. He would have to receive the booster shot by Feb 26 this year in order to continue to be considered as fully vaccinated, MOH said.
No boosters are needed for now for vaccinated persons who have recovered from Covid-19, but infected persons who were unvaccinated or partially vaccinated before their infection should get a dose of mRNA vaccine (two dose if they are taking the Sinovac vaccine) three months after their infection to be fully vaccinated, said the ministry.
Urging people to take their boosters promptly, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said in a press conference announcing the move: "Vaccines cannot last in perpetuity. The protection will wane after a few months, and it needs to be restored with a booster."
An individual's "fully vaccinated" status affects how vaccination-differentiated safety measures apply to them, such as access to malls, restaurants and libraries, stressed Mr Ong.
The authorities will also invite seniors aged 60 and above to receive their booster shots four months, instead of five months for others, after their last dose of vaccine, he added.
