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Updated May 31st, 2021 at 22:44 IST

Singapore to begin vaccination for 12-18 yr-old's after a school reported COVID +ve cases

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that Singapore was opening vaccination for those between ages 12 and 18 from Tuesday followed by young adults

Reported by: Riya Baibhawi
Singapore
Image: AP | Image:self
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In a significant development, Singapore is kick-starting COVID vaccination for adolescents from June 1. In a televised address on  May 31, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that the country was opening vaccination for those between ages 12 and 18  from Tuesday followed by the last group of young adults aged 39 years and below. The rare decision was made after a few high school students tested positive for COVID. 

'Test, Trace, Vaccinate' 

As a part of its latest outbreak, Singapore has reported 16 active cases of coronavirus- 10 symptomatic and 6 asymptomatic- according to the Health Ministry. Threatened by surging infection, the government has also ramped up testing and tracing residents. "As long as our population is mostly vaccinated, we should be able to trace, isolate, and treat the cases that pop up, and prevent a severe and disastrous outbreak," Loong said in a speech. However, a seemingly optimistic Loong also said the country’s COVID restrictions may be relaxed after June 13 if the situation improves. “Barring another super-spreader or big cluster, we should be on track to bring this outbreak under control,” he said in a televised address.

On May 18, the Southeast Asian state authorized the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for teenagers aged 12 to 15.  City-State’s Health Sciences Authority conducted a detailed review of the results from the clinical trials submitted by the manufacturer and approved the jab for adolescents between 12 to 15, owing to its safety and efficacy. The co-chair of Singapore’s multi-ministry task force of COVID-19, Ong, said at a presser that the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) has decided to expand the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine among teenagers. The decision was backed by the health and scientific expert committee. 

"Both teams (expert committee and HSA) have assessed that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine demonstrated high efficacy and safety for this age group,"  Singapore’s health minister said.  He added, that the country’s Ministry of Education (MOE) would work with the Ministry of Health (MOH) will work in collaborate to jab this age group at dedicated vaccination centres, but more details will be announced soon.

Image: AP

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Published May 31st, 2021 at 22:44 IST

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