askST: With the pandemic over, should I still get my Covid-19 vaccine shots?
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People aged 60 and older, the medically vulnerable aged six months and older, and residents of aged-care facilities are recommended to get the Covid-19 vaccine jab.
ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
Follow topic:
- Updated Moderna and Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines, targeting the LP.8.1 variant, are available for free to Singapore residents at GPs and polyclinics.
- Experts recommend vaccination for those 60+, medically vulnerable and aged-care residents, and encourage it for healthcare workers and their contacts.
- Vaccination before travel is advised due to increased exposure, with flu jabs potentially prioritised, given the current higher number of influenza cases.
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SINGAPORE - With the year-end holidays around the corner, those planning to travel may be thinking of getting updated vaccinations – including for Covid-19.
But more than two years after the World Health Organisation declared an end to the Covid-19 public health emergency
Q: What are the latest Covid-19 vaccines currently available in Singapore, and how I can get them?
A: Since Oct 27, updated versions of the Moderna/Spikevax and Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty Covid-19 vaccines
Also available via mobile vaccination teams, the vaccines are free for all Singapore citizens, permanent residents, long-term pass holders and certain short-term pass holders.
Members of the public can visit gowhere.gov.sg/vaccine
Appointments at participating GP clinics can be booked via vaccine.gov.sg/covid
Those under preventive health initiative Healthier SG can get their Covid-19 vaccine jab at the clinic they are enrolled under, should it offer the vaccine.
Q: With Covid-19 now considered an endemic disease, should I still be concerned?
A: “I don’t think we should be more concerned about Covid-19 than other endemic respiratory infections such as influenza, RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) or pneumococcus,” said infectious diseases expert Paul Tambyah.
“At the same time, we should do what we can to prevent ourselves from coming down with any of these endemic infections, including Covid-19, as they can be nasty,” added Professor Tambyah, who is the immediate past president of the Asia-Pacific Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infection.
Q: Who should get the updated vaccines?
A: Singapore’s Expert Committee on Immunisation – which includes specialists in fields such as infectious diseases, microbiology and public health – recommends that people aged 60 and older, the medically vulnerable aged six months and older, and residents of aged-care facilities should get jabbed.
“Healthcare workers and persons living or working with medically vulnerable individuals are also encouraged to consider receiving the vaccine,” said the Communicable Diseases Agency.
These recommendations are in line with other international guidelines, covering the most vulnerable and their carers, said Prof Tambyah.
Those who last got a jab a year or more ago should consider getting the vaccine, said Dr Leong Hoe Nam, an infectious disease expert at Rophi Clinic, adding that recent data suggests immunity conferred by the vaccine may last only about six months.
Q: What do the updated Covid-19 vaccines provide protection against?
A: The updated vaccines provide protection against the LP.8.1 variant of Sars-CoV-2, which was designated as a variant under monitoring by the World Health Organisation in January.
A subvariant of the JN.1 strain, LP.8.1 was the dominant strain worldwide in mid-2025.
Prof Tambyah noted that the XFG variant, which has recently been circulating in Singapore and Malaysia, is of the same lineage as LP.8.1.
Like LP.8.1, XFG is a descendant of JN.1, with all being sub-variants of the Sars-CoV-2 Omicron virus strain which emerged in late-2021.
However, it remains to be seen how effective the updated vaccines will be against XFG and subsequent variants, said Prof Tambyah.
Q: Does it matter which vaccine type I get?
A: There is currently no evidence that any vaccine type is more efficacious than any other, said Prof Tambyah.
“I would recommend that individuals get whichever vaccine is most convenient for them – whatever their neighbourhood GP carries,” he said.
Dr Leong suggested that updated versions of Novavax’s Nuvaxovid – a protein-based, non-mRNA Covid-19 vaccine – could be brought in.
“There are individuals who are intolerant of the mRNA vaccines and will benefit,” he said.
Q: Should I get the Covid-19 vaccine if I plan to travel?
A: Prof Tambyah said: “Most Singaporeans who travel tend to try to do too many things in too short a period of time. We also often travel to cold places where people are often crowded indoors, and that is where respiratory viruses such as influenza and Sars-CoV-2 thrive.
“It is a good idea to get vaccinated before travel so you can have a better chance of not getting sick while on holiday.”
Q: Should I prioritise getting vaccinated against influenza or Covid-19?
A: People can get both shots if they did not have issues with them in the past, the experts said.
People may choose to get vaccinated against the flu first, given the higher number of influenza cases currently, said Dr Leong.
However, those with flu-like symptoms should postpone their jabs as they may not be able to get a good immune response if they are suffering from influenza, Covid-19 or other infections at the time of the vaccination, said Prof Tambyah.
