Plans to Scale Down Free COVID-19 Vaccinations under National Vaccination Programme

20 Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim asked the Minister for Health given the current green status of the Disease Outbreak Response System Condition (DORSCON Green), whether there are plans to (i) scale down free COVID-19 vaccinations under the National Vaccination Programme and (ii) repurpose underutilised vaccination centres.

Mr Ong Ye Kung: It is important to note that the COVID-19 virus is not a mild disease. We are able to live with it as an endemic disease because we have become more resilient due to vaccinations and safe recovery from infection. However, protection will wane and it is important to keep up vaccinations to maintain our resilience, especially for vulnerable individuals and seniors.

Nevertheless, demand for vaccine have been falling and the scale of our vaccination operations will need to adapt to this reality, while retaining the ability to scale up capacity should the need arise.