Waiting Times for COVID-19 Jabs to be Shorter as S’pore Looks to Dose 1.25 Million People by End-April

If you’ve thought that Singapore can’t be faster than the April deadline mentioned previously, think again.

Because on 8 Mar 2021, it was reported that the Ministry of Health (MOH) is looking to cut down the waiting time for COVID-19 vaccinations.

This means that more people can be vaccinated per day, bringing up the speed of the national vaccination programme in Singapore.

Streamlining COVID-19 Vaccination Processes

According to Straits Times, some people have told them that they had to wait more than 2 hours to get their jabs.

They also had to verify their personal information and medical history four times during the entire process.

Well, moving forward, people who are getting the COVID-19 vaccination will only need to verify it twice.

Once during registration and another just before getting the needle stuck into your arm. Ouch!

Of course, people’s safety is still the utmost priority, MOH assures.

Other Tips For Shorter Waiting Time

In addition, if you want shorter waiting times, you can choose to book the afternoon slots instead.

According to MOH, people tend to get vaccinated at polyclinics in the morning.

A 25-year-old medical student who got vaccinated in the afternoon at Toa Payoh polyclinic said it only took 15 minutes for her to get vaccinated.

MOH also urge people to arrive on time for their scheduled appointment so as not to cause any undue delays.

All in all, MOH is expected to dose around 1.25 million people in Singapore by the end of April 2021.

That’s about a quarter of Singapore’s population.

More Vaccination Centres Being Set Up

Today (8 Mar 2021), the vaccination centre at Bedok Community Centre has begun operations.

Another 16 vaccination centres will progressively open up over the next few weeks, bringing up the total number of vaccination centres to 31 by the end of Mar 2021.

More care ambassadors and volunteers will be deployed on the ground to conduct house visits and educate the elderly about the importance of vaccination.

DPM Heng asks for you to encourage the elderly to take up vaccination, and not to reject it when you are offered the opportunity to be vaccinated.

VacciNation SG Campaign Launched to Raise Awareness of COVID-19 Vaccines and Encourage Vaccinations

On Tuesday (2 Mar), Minister for Communications and Information S. Iswaran announced a new campaign to raise awareness for COVID-19 vaccination in Singapore.

The campaign, he says, will also address and debunk fake news and misconceptions about the COVID-19 vaccination in Singapore.

Something really important given how a previous survey didn’t show promising results.

Just as not every platform is created equal, not all age groups access the same platforms.

To combat this, the authorities have tried to create as many channels as possible on both traditional media and new ones like TikTok, Instagram and Telegram.

For the people not connected to the internet or social media, they’re also carrying out face-to-face outreach programmes.

If You Have Any Questions About The COVID-19 Vaccination Drive

Here are a few sites you might want to check out:

• MOH’s COVID-19 Vaccination Webpage
• Gov.sg COVID-19 Vaccination Updates

And if your elderly parents are worried about getting the jab, here are a few articles that might calm them down:

• Former PM Goh Chok Tong, 79, Receives First Shot of COVID Vaccine & Went to the Zoo Afterwards
• PM Took COVID-19 Vaccine; Nurse Who Gave Jab Was ‘A Bit Nervous’
• President Halimah Takes COVID-19 Vaccine & Says It’s ‘Not Painful at All’

By the way, you can click here to read the latest COVID-19 vaccination update.

Feature Image: Shutterstock.com / Miriam Doerr Martin Frommherz