Making plans on your calendar app during the pandemic is a bit like basing your cryptocurrency investment strategy on Elon Musk’s tweets: unwise.
The coronavirus has a habit of causing mass plan cancellations, whether it plans for social gatherings or plans to combat the virus itself.
Initially, the plan was to vaccinate as many Singapore residents as possible with two doses to protect them against COVID-19.
But now, the authorities may be changing their strategy.
MOH Could Be Giving More People the First Dose of COVID-19 Vaccine if the Second Dose Could Be Delayed
Instead of getting your second dose three to four weeks after the first – which is the current procedure – it might be delayed up to six to eight weeks instead.
The authorities are considering this new approach so more residents can receive the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said on Sunday (16 May).
Experts here and abroad believe that the two doses can be spaced further apart without affecting their efficacy, with international studies showing that the first dose confers good protection.
If implemented, this will come in the second phase of our mass vaccination drive.
The first phase has been focused on those who need it most, such as the elderly and front-line workers in hospitals, sea ports, schools, and the airport.
Wanting to give them “maximum protection”, Mr Ong said the government ensured that these people received their two doses first.
“And today, the progress has been good, so one-quarter of our population today are fully vaccinated – two doses.”
Those With Appointment For Second Dose Won’t Be Affected
If you just made an appointment for your second vaccine dose and started cursing the heavens when you read this headline, take a chill pill.
Those who already have an appointment for their second dose of the vaccine will not be affected.
More details of the second phase of vaccination will be announced once they are finalised.
Younger People Could Be Vaccinated Too
When the COVID-19 task force announced the closure of schools, they explained that the B1617 strain, commonly known as the double-mutant variant, appears to be affecting younger children more.
This is why some students and pupils in tuition centres have tested positive recently.
This is one of the reasons the authorities are considering vaccinating younger people as well.
Currently, only residents aged 16 and older are eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine in Singapore, but that doesn’t mean it’s unsafe for children, Mr Ong said.
“They did not test on enough children of that age group (in clinical trials) and, therefore, it is not approved internationally to be used on children.”
This has since changed, however, and in some countries, the vaccine is being administered to those between 12 and 15 years old.
Both measures – further spacing apart the doses and vaccinating younger residents – are geared towards vaccinating as many people as possible.
With fresh waves of the coronavirus breaking out in dozens of countries, it’s clear that vaccines, masks, and social distancing are our only hope against this detested disease.
To know more about the vaccines in Singapore, watch this video to the end:
Featured Image: BaLL LunLa / Shutterstock.com
Would you be jailed for being half-naked in public? Well, the answer will shock you. Seriously. Watch this to the end and you'll understand:
