SINGAPORE, March 17 — The Covid-19 vaccine made by American pharmaceutical firm Moderna will be administered at four of the seven new vaccination centres here that will begin operations progressively from today.

Applications for a financial assistance scheme will also be opened on the same day for people who suffer serious side effects related to a Covid-19 vaccination taken as part of the national voluntary vaccination programme, the Ministry of Health (MoH) said in a statement yesterday.

MoH added that the authorities will consider allowing residents with "very exceptional circumstances” to receive their vaccination earlier.

The announcements come as the government seeks to roll out Moderna’s vaccine, which in February became the second to be approved here after the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was approved last December.

The first shipment of Moderna's vaccine had arrived on February 17, two weeks ahead of schedule.

The four vaccination centres that will offer the Moderna vaccine are at Hong Kah North Community Club (CC), Marsiling CC, Punggol 21 CC and Radin Mas CC.

All other vaccination centres and clinics will continue to use the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which has so far been the only brand Singapore uses for its mass vaccination exercise. The vaccine is made by American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech.

The three other vaccination centres set to open soon will be at Nanyang CC, Sengkang CC, Arena @ Our Tampines Hub. These will also use the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, MoH said.

Financial aid for vaccine side effects

If a person suffers a serious side effect assessed to be related to their Covid-19 vaccination taken under the national vaccination programme, the person may receive cash aid through the Vaccine Injury Financial Assistance Programme.

This is open to Singapore citizens, permanent residents and long-term pass holders.

How much the person will receive will depend on the severity of the side effects.

― One-time payout of S$2,000 (RM6,117.43) for individuals who need inpatient hospitalisation and medical intervention, and later recovers

― One-time payout of S$10,000 for individuals who need admission to high dependency or intensive care, and later recovers

― One-time payout of S$225,000 for individuals who die or suffer permanent severe disability as a result of Covid-19 vaccination

The second and third tiers of the payouts under the scheme were announced earlier this year.

MoH said that this scheme was not designed to reimburse medical costs, but to give a "greater peace of mind” to those still deciding whether they should take up the voluntary free vaccinations.

"It provides an additional layer of financial support, on top of the existing government healthcare financing schemes for medical costs incurred, which include government subsidies, MediShield Life, MediSave and MediFund,” it wrote.

Those who wish to apply for the scheme must submit an online application to MoH. The application must be supported with medical information on the serious side effect from their doctor.

All applications will be reviewed by an independent clinical panel on the severity of the side effects and whether they are related to the Covid-19 vaccine, MoH said.

Appeals for early vaccination

Although the government had said in February that it had limited vaccine supplies to allow those who wished to travel overseas to get their jabs early, it will now approve some appeals for residents with exceptional circumstances.

These include, for example, those who need to travel overseas for school, a vocational programme or work and are unable to carry out their activities remotely. 

They include people who wish to travel overseas to visit or care for a critically ill immediate family member or to seek necessary medical treatment that cannot be reasonably received here.

MoH urged those who wish to submit an appeal application to do so eight weeks in advance to allow enough time to complete the two required doses of the Covid-19 vaccine.

Priority will be given to those travelling to higher-risk countries or regions, it said.

MOH also said that it is working with hospitals and clinics to provide earlier vaccination for their patients with complex chronic medical conditions who would be more vulnerable to severe complications if they were to fall ill with Covid-19.

More than 549,000 people vaccinated

As of Monday, more than 792,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered, MoH said. 

More than 549,000 people have received at least their first dose, of whom about 243,000 have also gotten their second dose.

Since the islandwide vaccination for seniors began on February 22, more than 175,000 seniors have received their first dose. About 230,000 elders have made appointments to take their first dose in the next few weeks.

There are 24 vaccinations centres in operation as of Monday, besides 20 polyclinics and 22 Public Health Preparedness Clinics that are also administering Covid-19 vaccines.

By mid-April, there will be a total of 40 vaccination centres islandwide, MoH said. ― TODAY