PLANS TO SCALE DOWN FREE COVID-19 VACCINATIONS UNDER NATIONAL VACCINATION PROGRAMME

NOTICE PAPER NO. 2252
NOTICE OF QUESTION FOR WRITTEN ANSWER
FOR THE SITTING OF PARLIAMENT ON OR AFTER 4 OCTOBER 2023 

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament
Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim
MP for Chua Chu Kang GRC

Question No. 5065

To ask 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 under-utilised vaccination centres.

Answer

1     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 arises.