As Singapore recently rolled out its vaccination drive for kids between the age of 12-17, Education Minister Chan Chun Sing said that at least three-quarters of all eligible students have booked their appointments.
This comes as good news especially at a time when the island is trying to curb COVID-19 by ramping its vaccination drive.
The minimum age limit for Covid vaccine in Singapore is 12 years. According to a report on GoodyFeed, around 83% of the graduating cohort who will go through their GCE O- N- and A- levels examinations in 2021, have registered to get their jabs.
This means at least 43,000 students have signed up to get vaccinated, after about 52,000 text messages were sent out to parents and students on June 1.
Age Limit For Covid Vaccine: Here's The Enrolment Status
Image courtesy: iStock
In addition to the above, about 75% of JC1 students and students in polytechnics have also registered to get their vaccination.
The third batch of invitations has been sent out to Secondary 1, 2, 3 and Primary 6 students from Friday (4 June) onwards. The authorities are also expected to start sending invitations to students in the six autonomous universities from next week.
If your child is yet to register, the Ministry of Education will continue to reach out and extend support to them.
4 New Vaccination Centres For Students
The vaccination centre at the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) College will begin operation from Monday. The two other dedicated centres located on ITE college campuses in Choa Chu Kang and Simei will open in stages next week.
The fourth centre will be at Raffles City Convention Centre. MOE and the Health Promotion Board (HPB) are setting up the centres.
Note:
- ITE centres will be able to administer 1,600 doses of the vaccine a day.
- The Raffles Centre will be able to give 2,000 doses a day.
- Centres on ITE college campuses will have a larger holding area for parents who may be accompanying their children.
Age Limit For Covid Vaccine: Here's What You Need to Remember
The vaccination drive kicked off last week with the 56,000 students who will be sitting for the N, O, and A levels and other exams.
- If your child is 18 and above, they will receive an SMS containing a unique link for them to book a slot for the first dose of the vaccine.
- For children under 18 – who will need parental consent to take the jabs – the SMS invitations will be sent to their parents or guardians.
Remember, if your child is below 13, you or any guardian will have to accompany them during their jabs.
Parents, do keep in mind that those aged 18 and above will have a choice of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines. But those between the ages of 12 and 17 years will be offered only the Pfizer-BioNTech jab.
The second dose will be given around six to eight weeks later.
16-year-old wrongly vaccinated with Moderna
Image courtesy: Facebook/Chan Chun Sing
On June 3, a 16-year-old boy was wrongly vaccinated with the Moderna vaccine at Kollam Ayer Community Club Vaccination Centre. The mistake came to the light during the observation period after the boy received his jab.
So here's what had happened:
Investigations revealed that the boy’s date of birth was mistakenly entered – as above 18 years of age– when booking a vaccination appointment. Thus, opening up a possibility for Moderna vaccination centre to be selected.
The vaccination centre staff also failed to verify the age of the boy.
Sharing updates about the boy, Minister Chan Chun Sing
said, the student is “coping well.” There have been no adverse side effects so far. The ministry is looking after the boy's well-being.
Following the incident, a detailed discussion was done with the MOH staff to be more careful during the registration process and the on-site verification processes.
How MOH is planning to avert such instances in the future
Instructions have also been issued to vaccination centres that offer the Moderna vaccine to prevent similar errors from ocurring in the future.
Mr Chan mentioned that the final layer of the check must be on-ground. This is when prior to the vaccination, the staff will check and verify the IC (identification card) number. Thus verifying the age of the person coming in for vaccination.
While the staff needs to do their work properly, parents also need to get the registration process right.
How To Register Your Child For Caccination
Other than noting that 12 years is the lowest age limit for COVID vaccine in Singapore, here are some other things that you must keep in mind about the process.
- Visit the MOH Covid-19 vaccination registration page that gives you a detailed guide on how the process works.
- Click on the ‘Register Now’ button.
- Then fill the pre-registration online form with your details including mobile number, name, NRIC, date of birth, and preferred language.
- Then submit the form.
- Post submission, you will receive an SMS from the authorities with a unique booking link to make an appointment.
Remember, you will have to schedule an appointment within 30 days of receiving the SMS. If you miss this window, you'll need to re-register using the link given in the SMS.
Even after your kids have received their jabs, ensure that they continue to follow all the COVID precautions. This means: mask up, avoid crowds, and wash their hands to stay safe from COVID!
News source: The Straits Times, GoodyFeed
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