Singapore has begun using the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at four new vaccination centres that started operations today.
These centres are located at Hong Kah North Community Club (CC), Marsiling CC, Punggol 21 CC and Radin Mas CC, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) in a media release yesterday.
"As more supplies of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine arrive, more vaccination centres will offer the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine," said MOH.
Another three new vaccination centres – located at Nanyang CC, Sengkang CC and Arena @ Our Tampines Hub – also opened today. These will continue to offer the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine that was the first to be used in Singapore.
These new locations will join the 24 existing centres, along with the 20 polyclinics and Public Health Preparedness Clinics (PHPCs), in offering vaccinations for members of the public. MOH said it expects a total of 40 vaccination centres to be in operation islandwide by mid-April.
The ministry also noted that each centre will only stock and administer one type of vaccine.
"Individuals must select the same vaccination centre for both their first and second appointments, when booking via the national appointment system. As the vaccination capacity of each vaccination centre is not the same, the waiting times for first dose vaccination will differ between the vaccination centres," said MOH.
Appointment slots for vaccinations are currently open for frontline and healthcare workers, as well as seniors aged 60 and above. MOH said that vaccinations will be made available to more segments of the population from April.
As of Monday, Singapore has administered over 792,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, with more than 549,000 people having received their first dose.
The ministry said that the Vaccine Injury Financial Assistance Programme for COVID-19 vaccination (VIFAP) opened for applications today.
The scheme provides financial aid to Singaporeans, permanent residents and long-term pass holders who suffer serious side-effects arising from their vaccination. It is aimed at giving peace of mind to those still deciding whether to take up the vaccination.
Those qualifying for the VIFAP will receive a one-time payout in the following amounts, depending on the severity of the side-effects suffered.