More than 8,000 Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 bivalent vaccine shots administered on first day

SINGAPORE – More than 8,000 shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech Comirnaty Covid-19 bivalent vaccine were administered on Monday, the first day the new vaccine was made available here.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) said the new Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine made up about 60 per cent of the more than 13,400 bivalent vaccine doses provided on Monday.

The remaining 40 per cent were the bivalent version of Moderna’s Spikevax vaccine.

Bivalent vaccines provide protection against the original Sars-CoV-2 strain of the coronavirus, as well as the Omicron sub-variants.

The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) granted interim authorisation for the use of Moderna’s Spikevax bivalent Covid-19 vaccine in September, while Pfizer-BioNTech’s Comirnaty bivalent vaccine was approved in October.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine can be administered to those aged 12 and above, while Moderna’s vaccine is available to those 18 or older.

The introduction of another bivalent vaccine may encourage more people to get their boosters, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said on Monday. More than 386,000 people in the country have already received a shot of a bivalent Covid-19 vaccine.

Of the 13,400 bivalent jabs on Monday, 275 were administered by mobile vaccination teams at the Bukit Panjang Zone 3 Residents’ Committee Centre, as well as the Hong Kah North and Leng Kee community clubs.

These teams, which are deployed to heartland areas to make it easier for seniors to get their jabs, will go to eight locations across the island until Jan 12.

They will be deployed at each site for three days before moving on to the next location. The schedule is available at https://gowhere.gov.sg.

Around 65 per cent of Singapore’s eligible population were up-to-date on their Covid-19 vaccinations as at Monday.