Start Of COVID-19 Vaccination For Seniors

       We are making good progress in our vaccination efforts. As of 18 February 2021, about 250,000 individuals have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Amongst them, more than 110,000 have also received their second dose of the vaccine, and completed the full vaccination regimen. Following the successful pilots in Ang Mo Kio and Tanjong Pagar, we will commence COVID-19 vaccinations for seniors in the community from 22 February.

Vaccinations for Seniors

2.    Seniors are at higher risk of severe disease or complications from COVID-19 infection, and have been prioritised for vaccination. The pilot for vaccinations for seniors aged 70 years and above commenced on 27 January for seniors residing in Ang Mo Kio and Tanjong Pagar. Over 5,000 seniors from both towns have received their vaccinations as of 18 February. These seniors are scheduled to receive their second dose from 17 February onwards, and in two weeks, they will be adequately protected against COVID-19.

3.    COVID-19 vaccination for seniors will commence island-wide from 22 February. Over the next three weeks, seniors aged 70 years and above can expect to receive personalised letters inviting them to sign up for vaccination. We will start by inviting seniors living near polyclinics or vaccination centres, so that they can be conveniently vaccinated at a vaccination site near their home. By mid-March when we have opened a vaccination centre in each town, all seniors will be able to receive their vaccination. We expect all the letters to reach our seniors aged 70 years and above by the first week of March.

4.    Thereafter we will move to vaccinate the seniors aged 60 to 69 years. They will receive their invitation letters around the middle of March, and the vaccination will commence from around end-March onwards.

5.    Upon receiving the invitation letter, seniors can register online for their vaccination at vaccine.gov.sg. Once registered, seniors will receive an SMS with a unique link for them to book their vaccination appointments. Seniors will be able to schedule their vaccinations at any of the vaccination centres, 20 polyclinics, or 22 Public Health Preparedness Clinics (PHPCs)[1] operating as vaccination sites.

6.    Seniors who require assistance booking their vaccination appointments can bring their invitation letter to any community centre/club from 19 February, where staff members will be available to assist them. Community volunteers from People’s Association and Silver Generation Ambassadors will be conducting house visits and tapping on grassroots events to help seniors with their appointment booking and answer their queries. To reach out to seniors who may find it challenging to visit a vaccination site in person due to mobility issues, we will work with the relevant agencies to deploy mobile vaccination teams to carry out vaccinations for these individuals.

7.    As the letters will be mailed based on official residential addresses, seniors are encouraged to update their residential address using the change of address e-service via the relevant government websites[2], so that letters will be delivered to their place of residence

More Vaccination Centres for Seniors’ Convenience

8.   To ensure that seniors can conveniently receive their vaccinations, we will set up more vaccination centres in the coming weeks. Currently, there are 11 vaccination centres in operation[3]. Three more vaccination centres located at community centres/clubs will commence operations by 22 February, at Bukit Timah, Marine Parade and Taman Jurong, bringing the total to 14. By the middle of March, 31 vaccination centres will be in operation, with at least one vaccination centre in each town. In total, there will eventually be around 40 vaccination centres, with each vaccination centre planned for an estimated capacity of 2,000 vaccinations per day.

9.    These centres, together with the polyclinics and selected PHPCs, will ensure that every Singaporean and long-term resident in Singapore who is medically eligible can receive their vaccinations conveniently.

10.    Vaccination is critical to protect us and our loved ones against COVID-19. Vaccination also protects those in our community who cannot be vaccinated due to medical reasons. This collective protection will become more effective as more people are vaccinated and is a key enabler allowing us to return to normalcy. While COVID-19 vaccination will be voluntary, we strongly encourage Singaporeans and long-term residents who are medically eligible to come forward for vaccination when their turn comes, so that as a society, we can keep each other safe from the disease.

MINISTRY OF HEALTH
19 FEBRUARY 2021