COVID-19 Vaccines Recommended for Children Six Months and Up

COVID-19 Vaccines Recommended for Children Six Months and Above

The Department of Health’s Scientific Committees on Vaccine Preventable Diseases and Emerging & Zoonotic Diseases Monday (Aug. 1) issued recommendations in regard to the vaccination of children from six months old using either Pfizer or Sinovac vaccines.

The issuance was presented at an online meeting convened by the two committees jointly with Chief Executive’s John Lee’s expert advisory panel on COVID-19 epidemic prevention.

The committees concluded their findings with data from three doses of Pfizer vaccine and two doses of Sinovac vaccine in children from six months old, which showed the two vaccines to be immunogenic and presented no safety concerns.

It was recommended to vaccinate children as young as six months old due to the local epidemic context and winter surge in cases. The meeting also recommended a fourth COVID-19 dose for persons 50 years and above, at least three months from their third dose.

"Three doses of either of the two vaccines are highly effective in reducing hospitalisation, severe disease and death across all age groups in the adult population and completion of the recommended doses of COVID-19 vaccines is strongly urged as soon as possible,” said a government press report on Aug. 1.  

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