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7 New COVID-19 Updates in Today’s (18 May) Press Conference That You Should Know About

2021-05-18 , 8:06 pm

You know shit has hit the fan when the COVID-19 multi-ministry task force holds a press conference every two days.

This only happened last year when we were all at home, making bubble teas as all bubble tea shops were closed.

There are only two possibilities: the new Health Minister loves to be on TV, or the situation has worsened.

Unfortunately, it’s the latter and here’s what you need to know about the press conference held today (18 May).

People Aged Between 40 to 44 Can Register for COVID-19 Vaccine from Tomorrow Onwards

MOH said that they will be rolling their vaccination programme in five-year age bands, starting with those aged 40 to 44 years from tomorrow (19 May 2021) onwards, and progressively moving to younger age bands.

You can register at vaccine.gov.sg, and will receive an acknowledgement message via SMS after registration.

Second Doses for People Who Register from Tomorrow Onwards Will Have Their Second Dose 6 to 8 Weeks Later

Currently, those people who’ve taken their first dose would have their second dose 3 to 4 weeks later, depending on which vaccine they’ve taken.

For people who register from tomorrow onwards, they’ll have their second dose 6 to 8 weeks later instead.

This will allow 400,000 more individuals in Singapore to have at least one dose of the vaccine by the end of July.

And, according to Health Minister Ong Ye Kung, if things go smoothly, this means that “4.7 million individuals will be covered by at least one dose of vaccination by August (and) this will substantively cover almost all our eligible population.”

One dose will at least give some protection, but eventually, two doses are needed for maximum protection.

This approach is adopted in consultation with the Expert Committee on COVID-19 Vaccination which had studied scientific evidence globally in clinical trials and real-world roll-out of these vaccines.

The Committee is of the view that the maximum interval between mRNA COVID-19 vaccines could be extended to up to eight weeks to maximise vaccine coverage, without materially impacting the eventual overall immune response, as long as the second dose is eventually administered.

Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine is Approved for those Aged 12 to 15 Years Old

This couldn’t come at a better timing since the new variant appears to affect kids more.

The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) has authorised the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine under Pandemic Special Access Route .

This will be the first COVID-19 vaccine authorised for use in Singapore among this age group.

Data showed that the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine demonstrated high efficacy consistent with that observed in the adult population.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) will work with the Ministry of Education (MOE) on vaccination for this school-going age group and provide further updates in due course.

You can watch this video to know more about the vaccines in Singapore:

COVID-19 Vaccination for Homebound People

MOH has worked with the Health Promotion Board and Agency for Integrated Care to deploy home vaccination teams, comprising a doctor and a nurse, to vaccinate homebound persons who are unable to travel to a vaccination site at their homes.

Eligible homebound persons receiving home medical, nursing or personal care services will be approached by their current home care service provider to ascertain their interest in getting vaccinated through this service. If they have not been contacted, they can register their interest directly with their current home care service provider.

Homebound persons currently not receiving these home care services can appeal for this service by calling the MOH hotline 1800-333-9999.

Progress of Vaccination Centres

To think that a year ago, we were opening up testing centres instead of vaccination centres.

There are now a total of 40 vaccination centres located island-wide, in addition to 20 polyclinics and the 22 Public Health Preparedness Clinics (PHPCs). All vaccination centres are wheelchair-friendly to provide easy access to individuals who have mobility concerns.

New Mask Guide

If you’ve been using those colourful and fancy cloth masks, take note.

With the new variant that can be transmitted easier, MOH is now recommending that we use masks with good filtration capability. These would include reusable masks that are made of at least 2 layers of fabric, and surgical masks.

Single-use masks would typically report their filtration efficiency as part of their product specifications. Reusable masks such as masks issued by the People’s Association and Temasek Foundation (those free ones issued by the Government) also have good filtration efficiency. MOH and HSA will put up guidelines to aid the public in choosing good masks.

To know more about masks and important they are, watch this video to the end:

No Change in Group Size But People Encouraged to Stay Home

There hasn’t been any change in the group size of two people per group, but MOH strongly encourages everyone to remain at home, and leave the house only for essential activities.

In other words, even if it’s not a Circuit Breaker, treat it like a Circuit Breaker.

Now, stay tuned as I bet all my assets that we’d be seeing a new press conference soon.

Today, Singapore reported 27 new community cases, and 11 of them are unlinked.

Featured Image: YouTube