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[Editor's note: An earlier version of this article had the headline: "Those who got Sinovac & Sinopharm vaccines reminded to get 3rd dose before Dec. 31 to be fully vaxxed in 2022". The headline has been updated to reflect that MOH's reminder was for 70,000 people, whose second dose was at least three months ago.]

Those who received their second dose of either the Sinovac-CoronaVac or Sinopharm vaccines at least three months ago are reminded to take their third dose before Dec. 31, 2021 to be considered fully vaccinated from Jan. 1, 2022, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in a press release today (Dec. 2).

Those who have not done so by Jan. 1, 2022 will have their fully vaccinated status revoked and their status reflected as "vaccination in progress" instead.

They will also be subject to the current Vaccination-Differentiated Safe Management Measures (VDS), as well as the Workforce Vaccination Measures taking effect on Jan. 1 next year.

Mothership has reached out to MOH for more information on whether those who take their third doses will be subject to a 14-day waiting period for their vaccines to take effect before they are considered fully vaccinated, and will update this article if they respond.

MOH sending SMS notifications to those eligible for third dose

MOH said that from Dec. 1, they have been progressively sending out SMS notifications to about 70,000 persons (as of Nov. 30, 2021) who are eligible for their third dose of the vaccine.

Those who received their second dose of either the Sinovac-CoronaVac and Sinopharm vaccine more than three months ago are considered eligible for a third dose.

It was announced in October this year that those who took Sinovac-CoronaVac and Sinopharm vaccines would be considered fully vaccinated for four months after the second dose or Dec. 31, whichever is later.

MOH further advised that these individuals strongly consider taking a Pandemic Special Access Route (PSAR) mRNA vaccine as their third dose, unless they are medically ineligible to do so.

Otherwise, MOH advised that the individuals continue taking a third dose of whichever vaccine (Sinovac-CoronaVac or Sinopharm) they had received previously.

Persons who developed an allergic reaction to a first dose of an mRNA vaccine and subsequently received a Sinovac-CoronaVac vaccine for their second dose should also complete a third dose of the Sinovac-CoronaVac vaccine 28 days after their second dose to maintain their fully vaccinated status.

Those who have taken other combinations of vaccines involving Sinovac-CoronaVac and Sinopharm vaccines can refer here for more information on the requirements to be considered fully-vaccinated.

Grace period for children turning 13 in 2022 to get fully vaccinated

All children born in 2009 who will turn 13 in 2022 will be subjected to the vaccination-differentiated measures from March 1, 2022, an extension from the previous deadline of Jan. 1, 2022.

This extended grace period is so that children born in December 2009 will have more time to get fully vaccinated.

MOH also reminded Singaporeans that the concession to perform a pre-event test (PET) in lieu of being fully vaccinated will be removed from Jan. 1, 2022.

This means that only fully vaccinated, recovered, medically ineligible individuals, or children aged 12 years and below (i.e. those born in 2010 or after) will be allowed to enter settings and participate in activities where VDS are implemented.

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Top photo via Ministry of Health/FB