People Between 18 to 49 Will be Offered the Bivalent COVID-19 Vaccines Later This Year

With the new sub-variant of COVID-19 like XBB driving the current wave of infections, the Ministry of Health has started offering the bivalent COVID-19 vaccination boosters to those above 50.

MOH announced on 20 October that the boosters would be offered to those between 18 and 49 years old later on in 2022 too.

What Are Bivalent Boosters?

The difference between the ordinary booster shots and the bivalent vaccine is that it will target both the original COVID-19 virus and the Omicron variant.

“It therefore will provide better protection against the newer COVID-19 variants. It is proven to be safe and effective,” said the ministry. MOH will also replace the current mRNA vaccines with these bivalent vaccines.

Will Be Available for More People In Later 2022

The bivalent vaccines from Moderna/Spikevax were rolled out in Singapore on 14 October to those who have not yet achieved full protection, and to those above 50. These groups were prioritised due to their higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19.

Speaking in Parliament on 20 October, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung announced that the vaccines will be offered to those aged 18 to 49 later on in 2022.

And for those who prefer Pfizer over Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech’s bivalent Comirnaty vaccine should be available by end-2022.

This comes as Singapore is securing more supplies.

Encouraging Eligible People to Take Bivalent Vaccines

Minister Ong also said that everyone who is eligible to take the bivalent vaccine is recommended to do so.

And yes, this includes people who have already gotten infected before, or have recently recovered from COVID-19. It is recommended for them to get the new bivalent vaccine three months after infection.

This is especially since the XBB strain is proving to be the most immune-evasive strain so far, and has a higher chance of infecting people who have already gotten infected before and are vaccinated.

You can learn more about the XBB variant here:

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Where To Get Vaccinated (Again)

In response to queries about reopening vaccination centres at community clubs, Minister Ong said that there are already enough centres that offer convenient access to vaccinations.

There are currently 10 joint testing and vaccination centres, and one additional adult vaccination centre. There are also 221 participating Public Health Preparedness Clinics and 20 polyclinics that can offer vaccinations. The full list is available here.

These joint testing and vaccination centres are available at Ang Mo Kio, Bishan, Bukit Merah, Commonwealth, Jurong East, Kaki Bukit, Pasir Ris, Sengkang, Woodlands, and Yishun. You can view more details on MOH’s website. 

The one vaccination centre is currently located at the former Hong Kah North Secondary School. They offer Pfizer/Comirnaty for children 12 years old and above, and the Moderna/Spikevax Bivalent for those 18 years old and above.

However, there will be three more vaccination centres opening at One Punggol, Sembawang Community Club, and Our Tampines Hub from 25 October 2022. You can view more details about these centres here.

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