Siblings of children with existing appointments can get COVID-19 jabs together without prior booking

SINGAPORE: Siblings of a child with an existing appointment to receive the COVID-19 vaccination will be able to receive the shot at the same time without the need to make a booking, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said on Thursday (Nov 3).

The new arrangement is available from Mondays to Thursdays, beginning on Nov 7, Mr Ong said in a Facebook post. This will make it more convenient for families with more than one child, he added.

Parents should bring their children's identification documents for registration and arrive at the vaccination centre by 5.30pm on the given days, Mr Ong said.

A similar "sibling walk-in" arrangement for children aged five to 11 was put in place in January 2022. Thursday's announcement extends this to cover children aged six months to four years.

Singapore began offering COVID-19 vaccinations for children in the lower age group on Oct 25.

Mr Ong also said that there has been "good take-up" in the primary vaccination programme for young children.

A total of 14,000 children between the ages of six months and four years have either pre-registered or received the Moderna/Spikevax vaccine, while 20,000 children between five and 11 years old have either pre-registered or received the Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty booster, he said.