SINGAPORE, Feb 19 — With the nationwide Covid-19 vaccination for seniors will start from Monday (Feb 22), personalised letters will be sent to those aged 70 years and above over the next three weeks inviting them to sign up for vaccinations. "We will start by inviting seniors living near polyclinics or vaccination centres, so that they can be conveniently vaccinated at a vaccination site near their home,” said the Ministry of Health (MOH) in a press statement on Friday (Feb 19).

"We expect all the letters to reach our seniors aged 70 years and above by the first week of March,” the MOH said, adding that seniors are at higher risk of severe disease or complications from Covid-19 infection and have been prioritised for vaccination.By mid-March, all seniors aged 70 and older will be able to receive the Covid-19 vaccination when a vaccination centre opens in each town, it added.

The exercise will move to those between 60 and 69 years old thereafter, the ministry said.This group will receive their invitation letters around the middle of March, and the vaccination will commence from around end-March onwards.

The MOH added that seniors are encouraged to update their residential address using the change of address e-service via the relevant government websites, so that letters will be delivered to their place of residence.Upon receiving the invitation letter, seniors can register online for their vaccination at vaccine.gov.sg. Once registered, seniors will receive an SMS with a unique link for them to book their vaccination appointments. They will then be able to schedule their vaccinations at any of the vaccination centres, 20 polyclinics, or 22 Public Health Preparedness Clinics operating as vaccination sites.Seniors who require assistance booking their vaccination appointments can take their invitation letter to any community centre or club from Feb 19, where staff members will assist them. The MOH said that community volunteers from People’s Association and Silver Generation Ambassadors will also be conducting house visits and tapping grassroots events to help seniors with their appointment booking and answer their queries. 

"To reach out to seniors who may find it challenging to visit a vaccination site in person due to mobility issues, we will work with the relevant agencies to deploy mobile vaccination teams to carry out vaccinations for these individuals,” MOH said.

MOHA pilot for vaccinations for seniors aged 70 years and above commenced on Jan 27 for seniors residing in Ang Mo Kio and Tanjong Pagar. Over 5,000 seniors from both towns have received their vaccinations as of Feb 18.

The MOH said that as of Feb 18, a total of about 250,000 individuals have received their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine and more than 110,000 have also received their second dose of the vaccine, and completed the full vaccination regimen.

To ensure that seniors can conveniently receive their vaccinations, the MOH said that more vaccination centres will be set up in the coming weeks. There are currently 11 vaccination centres in operation, with three more vaccination centres located at community centres and clubs commencing operations by Feb 22 at Bukit Timah, Marine Parade and Taman Jurong.

"By the middle of March, 31 vaccination centres will be in operation, with at least one vaccination centre in each town,” the MOH said, adding that in total, there will eventually be around 40 vaccination centres, with each vaccination centre planned for an estimated capacity of 2,000 vaccinations per day.

"These centres, together with the polyclinics and selected Public Health Preparedness Clinics, will ensure that every Singaporean and long-term resident in Singapore who is medically eligible can receive their vaccinations conveniently.” — TODAY