Covid-19 vaccine: Priority could shift to getting first dose to as many people as possible, says Ong Ye Kung

• Some people could soon wait about six to eight weeks between shots
• This is longer than the current 21 or 28 days, depending on vaccine brand
• Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said this will not affect those who have booked their second appointment
• He said studies have shown that one dose still confers adequate protection

 

SINGAPORE — The Government is looking at changing its Covid-19 vaccination strategy to prioritise getting the first dose of the vaccine to as many people as possible.

If implemented, this would mean that some people could have to wait for about six to eight weeks between doses, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said on Sunday (May 16) during a briefing convened by the task force handling Singapore’s response to the pandemic.

He added, however, that this will not affect those who have already booked an appointment for their second jab.

The authorities are currently studying the plan and more details will be relayed to the public soon, he said.

Explaining why the Government is considering this change in vaccination strategy, Mr Ong said the move will be helpful in addressing the rise in Covid-19 community cases here.

Previously in the “first phase” of the programme, the authorities focused on administering both shots of the vaccine to those who need it the most — vulnerable populations here, like the elderly, and those who work on the front lines, such as in the hospitals, seaports, airports and schools.

“For this group, we want to give them the maximum protection,” said Mr Ong.

As of May 13, more than 3.2 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine have been administered.

About 1.9 million individuals have received at least one dose of the vaccine, of whom about 1.3 million individuals have received their second dose and completed the full vaccination regimen, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said.

Therefore, moving to the next phase of the programme, MOH is considering giving as many people as possible “a good level of protection against Covid-19” without reducing the effectiveness of the jab.

Mr Ong noted that there have been many international studies which have shown that even just one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine “confers good protection without compromising efficacy”.

“The evidence locally and overseas points towards this. Immunologists around the world also express the opinion that it is reasonable for those two (shots) to be further apart,” he said.

Currently the waiting time between doses for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is 21 days, while for Moderna it is 28 days.

During the briefing, a question was asked on why Singapore is unable to accelerate its vaccination programme, and if limited supplies are the reason the authorities are considering stretching the interval between doses.

In his reply, Mr Ong said the number of vaccines in the inventory here “goes up and down based on arrivals” and the vaccination exercise here is “still pretty much aligned in tandem with the arrival of supplies”.

“The pace is limited by the pace of the supply arriving in Singapore,” he said.

That being said, he assured the public that Singapore receives a “steady” stream of vaccine supplies from both pharmaceutical companies, and the number of shots the authorities have secured is enough to cover the entire population.

Adding to this, Education Minister Chan Chun Sing said this is why the Government has been building up the number of vaccination centres here.

Right now, Singapore has 40 vaccination centres islandwide and each vaccination centre can accommodate at least 2,000 people a day.

By ensuring that the country’s vaccination capacity is much higher than its availability, the authorities have made it such that the shots can be administered to the public in the shortest possible time once the supplies arrive, he said.

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