Health Ministry Encourages Third Dose for Sinovac Recipients to Maintain Full Vaccination Status
Singapore’s Ministry of Health (MOH) has announced that individuals who have completed their two-dose Sinovac-CoronaVac vaccination can now walk into selected vaccination centres for their third dose, without needing to book an appointment. This is part of a nationwide effort to ensure continued protection against COVID-19.
As of December 24, those who received two doses of the Sinovac vaccine are being strongly encouraged to take their third dose before December 31. This is recommended for all individuals at least three months after their second dose. Approximately 29,000 people are currently eligible for the third dose.
MOH has recommended that those receiving their third dose opt for an mRNA vaccine, such as Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty, as part of the Pandemic Special Access Route (PSAR). This advice is based on findings that antibody levels from Sinovac-CoronaVac decrease significantly within three to six months, leaving recipients at risk, especially against the Omicron variant.
The third dose is essential for maintaining the fully vaccinated status, with the Health Ministry warning that failure to do so will result in the individual being classified as requiring an additional dose, which may affect their access to vaccination-differentiated safe management measures.
Eligible individuals can now walk in without appointments to any vaccination centre administering the Moderna vaccine. For those aged 60 and above, walk-ins are also permitted at centres offering the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Raffles City Convention Centre, which administers Sinovac, will accept walk-ins until December 31.
Starting December 27, three centres—Bishan Community Club, Canberra Community Club, and Tanjong Pagar Community Club—will begin offering both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines. Those who have received their second dose at least five months ago but have not received an SMS notification can also walk into any vaccination centre to receive their booster dose without an appointment.
