MOH warns against sale of Sinovac jab slots after online posts

Enforcement action will be taken against people who exploit others by selling their Sinovac-CoronaVac Covid-19 vaccination slots.

Responding to queries from The Straits Times on Sunday, a spokesman for the Ministry of Health (MOH) said: "Individuals with booking slots should not exploit the situation and take advantage of people who want to be vaccinated."

MOH said it will watch out for any such acts of selling vaccination slots and "will proceed to take enforcement action where warranted".

Checks by ST last Wednesday found four bidders on consumer e-marketplace Carousell offering between $50 and $80 to buy the slots. One of the bidders said his family member is unable to receive mRNA vaccines, such as the Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty and Moderna vaccines, under the national vaccination programme due to a medical reason.

The Sinovac vaccine is not included in Singapore's national vaccination programme.

MOH said it has not received any complaints related to the online posts.

It is unclear if any transaction has taken place. MOH had on Aug 10 announced that Sinovac stocks here were being depleted.

Under the Special Access Route framework, the Government has allocated 170,000 doses of the Sinovac vaccine to 31 approved private healthcare institutions for a total of 85,000 individuals to receive two vaccine doses free of charge.

Administration of the second dose is currently ongoing for those who have taken the first dose.

The remaining 30,000 doses of the Government's stock have been reserved for Singapore citizens, permanent residents and long-term pass holders who have allergic reactions to mRNA vaccines, and for other purposes.

MOH said it has been providing assistance for private healthcare institutions to import more Sinovac supplies, and estimated that the new stock will arrive by the end of September.

It added that private healthcare institutions that have been approved to offer the Sinovac vaccine have to screen and ensure that each individual is clinically assessed to be suitable for the jab.

In a statement yesterday, a Carousell spokesman said listings of vaccination slots are "strictly prohibited" and that such listings have been removed from the platform.

"We moderate our marketplace through both manual and automated methods, and work closely with the authorities as well as partners like the Pharmaceutical Security Institute, to keep our users safe," the spokesman added.