SINGAPORE: Almost 50,000 COVID-19 vaccination invitations were sent out to the first batch of workers in the education sector on Mar 10, said Education Minister Lawrence Wong on Thursday (Mar 25).
Of these, more than 80 per cent of those invited made appointments, and some have taken their first dose, said Mr Wong in a Facebook post.
“Vaccination will help to reduce the risk of transmission in the community, together with other measures such as safe management, testing and contact tracing,” he said, adding that he is “very glad to see them step forward, in the spirit of protecting not just themselves, but their students and school community.”
The Ministry of Education (MOE), the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) and the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) announced on Mar 8 that more than 150,000 teachers and other workers in this sector will be offered the vaccine.
The exercise, which began on Mar 10, is in line with the Ministry of Health’s (MOH) efforts to extend vaccination to workers who offer essential services.
“It complements existing efforts to keep our educational institutions safe, as children and the majority of our students are not yet medically eligible for vaccination,” authorities said earlier in a press release.
Currently, the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is approved for use only in individuals aged 16 and above. Meanwhile, the Moderna vaccine is only approved for use in individuals aged 18 years and older.
The vaccination exercise will cover all staff members in educational institutions, as well as individuals who work in these institutions and come into regular contact with students.
More than 770,000 people in Singapore have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as of Monday, according to MOH. Of these, more than 300,000 have received their second dose and completed the full vaccination regime.
Source: Channel news Asia
