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As of Jan. 15, over 100,000 children from the ages of five to 11 have received their first dose of Covid-19 vaccine, the Ministry of Education (MOE) announced.

Around two in five Primary 1 to 6 students in MOE primary schools have also received their first dose.

Bookings for vaccination appointments first began on Dec. 22, 2021. Currently, only the Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty Covid-19 vaccine has been approved for children.

Good uptake for "sibling walk-in" arrangement

Under the new "sibling walk-in" arrangement, parents or guardians with more than one child or ward aged five to 11 can have them vaccinated at the same appointment.

According to MOE, the arrangement has seen good uptake.

More than 2,800 children were vaccinated under this arrangement from Monday to Thursday in the first week of implementation.

On average, this is equivalent to one sibling walking in for a jab for every five appointments made.

Students with special needs can receive their dose via mobile vaccination teams comprising staff from the Health Promotion Board, which have been progressively deployed to 12 out of 20 Special Education (SPED) schools since Jan. 12.

Two-thirds of students in SPED schools have registered for vaccination to date.

Next phase: Children progressively getting 2nd dose

The next phase of the paediatric vaccination roll-out will commence from Jan. 17, with children progressively receiving their second dose of the vaccine.

MOE strongly encourages parents/guardians to get their medically eligible child/ward vaccinated as soon as possible.

This is especially so considering the upcoming festive period where there might be more social gatherings, and to be as prepared as possible for the expected Omicron wave, MOE stated.

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