Singapore seniors to get vaccine boosters soon: Wong

The booster programme will roll out in two weeks' time.

Minister Lawrence Wong announced the roll out of booster shots for senior citizens, in his speech at the Multi-Ministry Taskforce Doorstop on 6 September.

Wong saw this as part of measures to delay the spreading of COVID-19. 

"We will buy time to roll out our booster programme for those aged 60 and above, which we announced recently, and the first batch of invites for these seniors to get their boosters will be issued in two weeks’ time. We are also studying the possibility of boosters for younger adults. This will not only protect them, but also help to slow down transmission and further reduce the [cases],” Wong said.

Other measures Wong highlighted were the increased testing for workers from once a fortnight to once a week, expanding the mandatory tests to include other sectors and the distribution of Antigen Rapid Tests to all companies. 

The minister also saw the implementation of a “circuit breaker” as the last measure. 

“So, with all of these measures we hope that we can help to slow down transmission, without having to go back to the heightened alert or the circuit breaker... We will try our best to refrain from using them; but we should not rule them out entirely. If, despite our best efforts, we continue to see or we see serious cases in ICU or needing oxygen going up sharply, then we may have no choice but to adopt a more tightened posture.”

The number of unvaccinated seniors aged 60 and above was brought down to 94,000. According to Wong, every day, about 500 seniors coming forward for vaccinations.