SINGAPORE - Primary school pupils under 12 can soon take their Covid-19 vaccinations without requiring their parents to accompany them under a new scheme.
After the school holidays, which end on March 20, pupils from Primary 1 to Primary 6 will be taken from their schools by bus to paediatric vaccination centres should they be eligible for the Covid-19 jab.
However, parents will need to first opt in for this scheme, said the Ministry of Education (MOE) in a statement on Wednesday (Feb 15).
The pupils whose parents opt in for the scheme can then get their vaccinations without the need for their parents to accompany them.
Previously, all children between the age of five and 11 needed a parent to accompany them to a vaccination centre.
More information on the School-Facilitated Vaccination Exercise will be announced on the Parents Gateway portal on Friday (Feb 18), the statement said.
Parents who wish to get their children inoculated earlier can walk into any paediatric vaccination centre or make an appointment on the National Appointment System, MOE added.
A nationwide drive to vaccinate more than 300,000 children aged five to 11 began in Singapore on Dec 27.
Since then, about 80 per cent of primary school children have signed up for their shots and about 75 per cent of primary school children have received their first dose.
About 70 per cent of primary school pupils are also expected to be fully inoculated by the end of the month, MOE said.
About 23,500 pre-school children born in 2016 and 2017 have signed up for their shots. Nearly 18,000 of them have already received at least one shot.
About 26,500 children benefited under the general walk-in arrangement, which allows children to be vaccinated without a prior appointment at paediatric vaccination centres from Mondays to Thursdays before 7pm.
Due to the surge in Omicron cases, MOE urged students to get vaccinated as soon as possible.
"We strongly encourage those who are medically eligible to receive their booster vaccination early for better protection," it added.
