MOH: People with 2 Sinovac, Sinopharm jabs, need 3rd to be considered ‘fully vaccinated’

Singapore — About 70,000 people who have already taken two doses of the Sinovac-CoronaVac or Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccines and are eligible for a third are being reminded by the Health Ministry (MOH) to get their third jab before Dec 31, so that they can continue to be considered fully vaccinated.

MOH said in a press release on Thursday, Dec 2, it was sending out notifications by SMS to the 70,000 who had already received their second dose of Sinovac or Sinopharm vaccines three months ago to get the third by Dec 31, so that they qualify as fully vaccinated from Jan 1, 2022.

This means their status will then revert to “vaccination in progress”, under the current Vaccination-Differentiated Safe Management Measures (VDS) and workforce vaccination measures, which take effect on Jan 1. In other words, they won’t be considered fully vaccinated.

MOH urges those who have already received two doses of the Sinovac/Sinopharm vaccines to have an authorised mRNA vaccine for their third dose, unless they are medically ineligible.

Those who are eligible can walk into any vaccination centre offering the mRNA vaccines for their third dose. A list of the vaccination centres and respective vaccines offered can be accessed here.

“Otherwise, they should complete their primary series with a third dose of the Sinovac or Sinopharm vaccines, whichever was received for the first two doses,” said MOH.

Those who developed an allergic reaction to the first dose of the mRNA vaccine and who have received the Sinovac vaccine for their second dose should also complete the third dose of the Sinovac vaccine, 28 days after their second dose, to maintain their vaccination status, said MOH.

More details on the requirements for those who have received a mixed Covid-19 vaccine combination involving Sinovac or Sinopharm can be found here.

Grace period for children turning 13 years old in 2022

It was announced on Nov 20 that the concession for unvaccinated individuals to have Pre-event Testing (PET) done in place of being fully vaccinated will be removed from Jan 1.

From that date, only those fully vaccinated against Covid-19, or who have recovered from Covid-19, are medically ineligible, or children who are 12 or younger (born in 2010 or later) will be allowed entry and participate in activities where VDS are implemented.

There will be a grace period for children born in December 2009 to give them enough time to get fully vaccinated. So those born in 2009 who will turn 13 in 2022 will need to be fully vaccinated to enter venues and participate in activities with VDS from Mar 1. /TISG

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