Singapore – According to Dr Janil Puthucheary, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has not received any reports of significant adverse events or myocarditis in children aged five to 11 as of last Friday (Jan 7).
“Most adverse effects encountered by children following vaccination have been mild, including as injection site soreness, weariness, and fever, and they normally pass in a few days,” the Senior Minister of State for Health said.
He was responding to inquiries from numerous Members of Parliament (MPs) on the Covid-19 vaccination program for children in Parliament.
Singapore began vaccinating children aged 5 to 11 years old in December of last year, and as of January 7, roughly 123,000 children in this age range had received at least one dose of the vaccine or had scheduled vaccination appointments, he added.
Dr. Puthucheary went on to say that all certified pediatric vaccination centers are well-equipped and well-trained to handle any on-site allergic reaction emergency.
He also said that according to worldwide statistics, the incidence of myocarditis among adolescents and teenagers aged 12 to 17 who were infected with Covid-19 is about 45 per 100,000 infections.
Myocarditis is uncommon in children who have received the Covid-19 vaccine, with an incidence of roughly one in a million doses.
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“As you can see, vaccination has a considerably lower risk and, as a result, the benefits are much bigger.”
The Vaccine Injury Financial Assistance Program for Covid-19 covers children who are citizens, permanent residents, or long-term pass holders, according to Dr Puthucheary.
It was launched last year to give financial assistance to people who have been affected by vaccines.
He claims that as of January 6, 14,097 children, or fewer than 4% of those aged 12 to 19, had not been vaccinated, with 14 of them being medically ineligible for the Pfizer-BioNTech (Comirnaty) Covid-19 vaccine, which is the only vaccine approved for use on children under the age of 18.
He stated that adolescents aged 12 to 17 are given special exemptions to obtain the Sinovac-CoronaVac vaccination alternatively as part of a specific health program.
The Ministry of Health and the Covid-19 expert group will consider whether this should be extended to children aged five to eleven who are also medically ineligible for the Pfizer-BioNTech (Comirnaty) vaccine.
