Those who took Sinovac, Sinopharm vaccine reminded to get third jab by Dec 31 to keep vaccination status for 2022

Those who opted to take the Sinovac or Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine are reminded to take their third dose by Dec 31 to be considered fully vaccinated in 2022.

The 70,000 people that have received two doses of these vaccines have been sent SMS reminders by the Ministry of Health (MOH), it said in a news release on Thursday (Dec 1). 

They are eligible for their third dose three months after their second jab. 

Starting Jan 1, eligible individuals who have not taken their third dose will have their vaccination status revert back to “vaccination in progress” on their TraceTogether app. 

This would mean they would be subjected to different vaccination safe management measures such as being unable to enter shopping malls, restaurants, and attractions, on top of restrictions at the workplace. 

It was announced previously that from 2022 onwards, unvaccinated or partially vaccinated people will not be allowed to produce a negative pre-event test to enter premises. 

MOH’s reminder comes after it was announced that the Sinovac-CoronaVac COVID-19 vaccine will be included as part of Singapore’s national vaccination programme as a three-dose regime.

On Thursday (Dec 2), MOH reiterated that those who have taken two doses of the Sinovac or Sinopharm vaccine are “strongly recommended” to receive an mRNA vaccine for their third dose, unless they are medically ineligible to do so. 

Those who are medically ineligible are instead advised to take all three doses of the Sinovac-CoronaVac vaccine.