Minister of Health Ong Ye Kung said in a Facebook statement advising Singaporeans to get the bivalent vaccine over the 2nd booster shot, saying that it is just as safe.
Ong Ye Kung’s Facebook statement
I have received several questions since Friday’s MTF announcement. Here are the replies.
- Is an infection considered a shot?
Yes, for purposes of achieving minimum protection. So if you have an infection, followed by two mRNA shots, you have minimum protection. But beyond minimum protection, infection is not considered as a substitute for a shot to keep up-to-date with your vaccination.
To keep up-to-date with COVID-19 vaccination, if you are 50 years-old or older and have achieved minimum protection, you should receive an additional dose within 5 months to 1 year of the last vaccine dose.
- Where do I go to get the bivalent vaccine? Can I go to a private clinic?
The Moderna/Spikevax bivalent vaccine will be available at our Joint Testing and Vaccination Centres (JTVC).
Persons aged 50 and above, or those yet to achieve minimum protection, may walk into any JTVC offering the Moderna/Spikevax vaccines from 17 October 2022 onwards. You can refer to https://www.gowhere.gov.sg/vaccine to locate the nearest JTVC.
Do note that while VaccineGoWhere website also lists the nearest private clinics administering COVID-19 vaccines, the bivalent vaccine will only be available at JTVCs for now.
- Can I skip my second booster and go straight to the bivalent dose?
Yes, you should. We have basically stopped counting boosters. You can just go receive the bivalent vaccine.
- How safe is the updated bivalent vaccine?
Clinical studies show it has the same safety profile as the original Moderna/Spikevax mRNA vaccine, which has been administered over 3 million times locally. Serious adverse events (SAE) have been reported in about 6 in 100,000 vaccinations of the original formulation, and all have recovered or are recovering. HSA has also reported a declining rate of SAEs with further shots (i.e. even fewer have adverse reactions after taking boosters compared to taking primary series).
- How safe is it to vaccinate young children under 5 years old?
Vaccination for children aged 6 months to 5 years with the Moderna/Spikevax vaccine is safe. Common side effects (such as injection site pain, fatigue, headache) were observed less commonly than in adults and subside within 2-3 days. SAEs are rare, with no cases of anaphylaxis or pericarditis/myocarditis observed in the clinical trial. To date, over a million doses have been administered in the US, with no safety concerns reported.
