The Multi-Ministry Taskforce has accepted the recommendation by the Expert Committee on COVID-19 Vaccination (EC19V) to use the pediatric doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 years.
Vaccinating this age group of children will further reduce the risk of transmission in school settings and reduce disruptions to education as well as co-curricular activities.
Vaccination shown to protect children from infection and severe disease
The incidence of COVID-19 in children has been increasing in tandem with the incidence of community cases. Although children have a low risk of severe disease, some of those infected with COVID-19 have developed life-threatening disease and severe late complications. Children also spend a significant amount of time in communal settings such as schools, where transmission can spread quickly as they interact.
The EC19V has reviewed clinical data submitted to the Health Sciences Authority and studied information available globally pertaining to COVID-19 vaccines for use in children.
- The results of the Phase 3 clinical trial of the Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty pediatric dose vaccine (at 10 micrograms, one-third of the adult dosage) in children aged 5-11 years has shown that around 90% reduction in the risk of symptomatic infection.
- As cases of COVID-19 infection in the clinical trial occurred from July to August 2021, when the Delta variant was already predominant in the US, these results reflect the vaccine’s efficacy against the Delta variant.
The common side effects in children who received the vaccine were generally mild to moderate, and children in this age group had fewer systemic side effects compared to persons 16-25 years of age.
- While there were no cases of anaphylaxis seen in the study, the risk of anaphylaxis or allergy can be expected to be comparable to that observed in adolescents and young adults
- while the rare risk of pericarditis cannot be dismissed, no cases of pericarditis were observed in the trial.
The EC19V thus assesses that the benefits of the Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty COVID-19 vaccine outweigh the risks, especially in the current situation of ongoing community and global transmission.
Recommended dosage for children aged 5-11 years
The recommended dosage for the Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty COVID-19 vaccine is as follows:
- Two pediatric doses (10 micrograms each) timed at least 21 days apart
- This dosage is one third of that used in persons aged 12 and above
For more information, please refer to MOH’s press release.
Designated Vaccination Centers
To facilitate the vaccination of younger children, there will be 15 designated pediatric vaccination centers (VCs) located island-wide to progressively begin operations from 27 December 2021. The Ministry of Education (MOE) has also worked with the Ministry of Health (MOH) to set up an additional pediatric VC within Yusuf Isaac Secondary School, starting from 11 January
Registration Process
The registration process will open progressively to all eligible children who are Singapore Citizens (SC), Permanent Residents (PR) and long-term pass holders (LTPH) by age bands.
The roll-out will start with children born between 2010 and 2012, followed by those born between 2013 and 2017. Children must have crossed their 5th birthday before they are eligible to book an appointment and receive the vaccination.
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