Ong Ye Kung on bivalent COVID-19 vaccines

Singapore is bringing in bivalent vaccines, which will target both the ancestral strain of COVID-19 and the Omicron variant. The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) has completed its evaluation of the Moderna bivalent vaccine and the decision will be announced soon. Health Minister Ong Ye Kung gave this update in reply to MPs' questions in Parliament on Tuesday (Sep 13). He said the Government intends to update its vaccines for the National Vaccination Programme as the formulations improve. It will share more details when the arrangements are confirmed. Currently, HSA and the Expert Committee on COVID-19 Vaccination are independently evaluating the Novavax vaccine for young persons aged 12 to 17. Novavax has not submitted the application for its vaccine to be administered to children under 12 years old. Mr Ong said there are no plans to include COVID-19 vaccinations in the National Childhood Immunisation Schedule at this point as the pandemic situation is dynamic and the recommendations continue to evolve with new data. The Ministry of Health will review this when appropriate, he said. Turning to vaccination-differentiated safe management measures (VDS), Mr Ong said the Government is reviewing vaccination requirements, from one of counting the number of doses and boosters to ensuring that vaccination is "up to date". This will be a more "enduring posture", he said. The Government expects to complete this review in the next few months and will review the VDS at the same time.