Vaccination for kids aged five to 11 to start on Monday

Covid-19 vaccination for more than 300,000 children aged five to 11 begins next Monday, with older children - next year's Primary 4 to Primary 6 pupils - going first.

About 110,000 SMS invitations to book appointments will be sent today to their parents.

From Monday, parents of all other children born between 2009 and 2012, including those not in Ministry of Education (MOE) schools, can register their interest in the vaccination.

Primary 1 to Primary 3 pupils will be next, with parents receiving invitations from the week of Jan 3.

This will be followed by all children aged five and above (born between 2013 and 2017), from the week of Jan 10.

The roll-out of vaccines to children who are Singapore citizens, permanent residents or long-term pass holders comes as the country braces itself for a possible surge in Covid-19 cases due to the Omicron variant.

Pointing out that 96 per cent of the medically eligible population have been fully vaccinated, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in a Facebook post yesterday: "Vaccinating younger children will help to keep them, their families and the wider community safe, especially with the Omicron variant spreading everywhere.

"I encourage parents and guardians to get your child or ward vaccinated if they are medically eligible."

Seven vaccination centres will be open to children from next Monday, followed by seven more from Jan 3. Each centre can take up to 1,000 appointments a day.

There will be separate queues and spaces for children to ensure safe distancing and correct administration of the vaccine.

The centres will be manned by medical personnel trained in paediatric care and vaccinating children.

An additional paediatric vaccination centre within Yusof Ishak Secondary School, which will start operating on Jan 11, will cater to families in Punggol and Sengkang.

Education Minister Chan Chun Sing said yesterday: "As parents, we all want to keep our children safe and healthy. Our children come into regular contact with family and friends as part of their daily lives. While the risk of our children being infected can never be entirely prevented, vaccination will reduce their chances of being seriously ill, if they are infected."

He said that many parents have been concerned about the disruptions to school activities as a result of the pandemic. "As more of our children get vaccinated, we'll be able to resume more activities, sports and games which are critical to their holistic development and well-being," he added.

Arrangements will be made for children in special education (Sped) schools and Early Intervention Programme for Infants and Children (Eipic) centres funded by the Early Childhood Development Agency. The Ministry of Health (MOH) will deploy mobile vaccination teams for them from Jan 12.

For other children with special needs who do not attend Sped schools or Eipic centres, such as those from private early intervention centres or who are home-schooled, their parents may register their interest via the MOH National Appointment System.

Currently, the Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty vaccine is the only Covid-19 vaccine approved for children aged five to 11 in Singapore.

The first batch of paediatric doses is expected to arrive here today.

Like some parents, investment manager Adrian Khoo is still considering whether to get his younger children, who turn six and nine next year, jabbed.

Said the 48-year-old, whose two teenage children are vaccinated: "If it's going to be very difficult (for unvaccinated kids) to go out or take part in school activities, then I guess we have to trust the health authorities that sufficient trials have been done to make sure it's safe."