Profile of Persons whose COVID-19 Vaccination Status Had Lapsed on 14 February 2022

2 Ms Joan Pereira asked the Minister for Health regarding the approximately 21,800 people aged 18 and above whose COVID-19 vaccination status had lapsed on 14 February 2022 (a) what is the general profile of these individuals; (b) whether the Ministry has information on why these people do not take their booster jabs; and (c) whether there are plans to reach out to these individuals to assist them to receive the booster jab.

The Minister for Health (Mr Ong Ye Kung): Mr Speaker, Sir, amongst the 21,800 individuals aged 18 and above, whose vaccination status had lapsed on 14 February 2022, 38% are work pass holders, 14% are Permanent Residents and the remaining are Singaporeans. The Ministry of Health (MOH) is unable to ascertain the reasons for them not getting their boosters, but indications are that many of them are overseas.

As for the Singaporeans who are not boosted, the majority are seniors aged 60 years and above. A common reason for not getting booster jabs is that they seldom go out, they feel adequately protected with their primary vaccination and they prefer to delay their booster vaccination.

MOH will continue to encourage individuals to come forward and take their booster shots when they are eligible, using SMS reminders, making vaccination as convenient as possible and, also importantly, deploying Mobile Vaccination Teams to the heartlands to reach out especially to seniors.