With some countries such as the US, Britain and France announcing plans to roll out Covid-19 booster shots as soon as this month, the kiasu Singaporean in you might have been wondering when it’d be your turn.
Well, if you’re 60 and above, or immunocompromised, you could be receiving your third jab soon.
Singapore will be rolling out its Covid-19 booster shots for seniors, residents of aged-care facilities, as well as those who are moderately to severely immunocompromised from this month, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in a press release today (Sept 3).
Here’s all you need to know about booster shots – what they are and when the rest of us might be likely to get them.
What is a booster shot?
According to WebMD, a booster shot is an additional dose of a vaccine that will help to boost your immunity. This is needed for some vaccines as their effects can diminish over time.
Booster shots aren’t anything new. In fact, you’ve probably already received a few, such as the hepatitis B, polio, and tetanus shots.
In the case of Covid-19, booster shots are important to “pre-empt a very sharp rise in breakthrough infections”, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said today.
Who should get the Covid-19 booster shot?
It’s Time to Hit the Reset Button on the Vaccine for the Super Immuno‑Weak
Question: Why should folks on cancer chemo, transplant meds, or dialysis get a third dose?
Answer: Because their bodies are like a semi‑functional radio—some signals just don’t make it through.
What the Health Ministry is Saying
- Those who are immunocompromised should receive a third mRNA shot exactly two months after their second dose.
- It’s part of the “primary” vaccination plan – not a booster, but a fresh start.
- Senior citizens also need extra care: they should get a booster between six and nine months after the first two doses.
- The rest of the public? We’ll keep an eye on global trends before making a call.
Why It Matters
“People with these conditions don’t raise their antibody shields as high as normal folks do,” explains Dr. Ong. “Even after two doses, they’re missing the punch to fight the virus. A third dose is the missing piece of the puzzle.”
Feeling the Weight? It Will Be Light
Think of your immune system like a sports team. Some players (the immunocompromised) get a little off before the big game. A third shot gives them a booster pep talk so they can play their best.
In Summary
Be it cancer survivors, transplant recipients, or seniors – a careful timeline of doses ensures those with weaker defenses stay protected. And for the rest? We’ll wait to see how other countries roll out their plans before we move the next step.
When will it be rolled out in Singapore?
With the first batch of seniors completing their primary courses of vaccination around March this year, they should be set to receive booster shots sometime this month, MOH said.
More details on the implementation of the booster shot programme are to be announced later, the ministry added.
What if I got an inactivated virus vaccine like Sinovac? How long should I wait?
If you received an inactivated virus vaccine such as Sinovac or Sinopharm instead of the Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty and Moderna mRNA vaccines used in Singapore’s national vaccination programme, you might be due for a booster much sooner than the rest of the population.
The neutralising antibody levels of those with the Sinovac jabs appear to drop rapidly in six months, Associate Professor Hsu Li Yang, the vice-dean of Global Health and Programme Leader of Infectious Diseases at NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, told The Straits Times.
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Neutralising antibody levels can be an indicator — though not the only determinant — of the level of protection you’re getting from your Covid-19 vaccine.
To increase your protection against the virus, booster shots — either of the same vaccine or an mRNA vaccine — are an option, said Assoc Prof Hsu.
Infectious diseases specialist Dr Leong Hoe Nam told the South China Morning Post that he has seen an increasing number of patients opting for the Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty jab as their third dose after receiving the Sinovac jabs.
“They took the Sinovac shots, did the blood test and saw low antibody levels, then opted for Pfizer as the third dose,” said Dr Leong.
According to Dr Leong, the normal antibody level for someone with two Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty doses is between 1,300 and 2,000 international units per millilitre (IU/mL). However, some who took the Sinovac jab have around zero to 40 IU/mL while others have 200 to 300 IU/mL, Dr Leong added.
Will my booster shot be the same vaccine as my first two doses?
Mixing and matching vaccines is not unheard of — some countries such as South Korea, Vietnam and Cambodia are currently mixing doses of different vaccines as part of their inoculation programmes.
While most of us here in Singapore would have gotten the same vaccine for our first two doses, it’s possible that we might be offered a different vaccine for our booster shot when our turn comes around, according to a report by The Straits Times.
Associate Professor Lim Poh Lian, a member of the Expert Committee on Covid-19 Vaccination, told the newspaper that there are pros and cons to getting a different vaccine for one’s booster shot, and emphasised that it “may not be a one-size-fits-all recommendation”.
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