People with allergic reactions to mRNA COVID-19 vaccines can take Sinovac shots, will be considered fully vaccinated

People who have suffered allergic reactions after receiving the first dose of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine have been invited to take the Sinovac vaccine, Senior Minister of State for Health Janil Puthucheary said in Parliament on Monday (Aug 2).

People who receive COVID-19 jabs in such a manner will be considered fully vaccinated.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) has established a public health programme for these people to be vaccinated at a clinic in public hospitals for closer monitoring, given their previous allergic reaction, said Dr Puthucheary.

The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, which are approved for use in the national programme, use messenger RNA (mRNA) technology. This teaches cells to make a protein that triggers an immune response inside our bodies.

This is different from the Sinovac vaccine, known as CoronaVac, which uses unreactive coronavirus particles that have been killed to stimulate the body’s antibody protection. The Sinovac vaccine is currently allowed to be administered in Singapore under the special access route, after it was approved for emergency use by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Dr Puthucheary was responding to MP Gerald Giam (WP-Aljunied) who asked how individuals who have allergic reactions to their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine will be able to attain fully vaccinated status.

In response to media queries, MOH said on Monday night that those who have received one dose of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine but are “medically unable” to receive a second dose due to allergic reactions may choose to wait for the non-mRNA vaccines that the ministry plans to bring in for use in the national vaccination programme.

If such individuals wish to receive the Sinovac-CoronaVac vaccine under the special access route, they can do so through the dedicated programme, said MOH in its clarification. This programme was established at the start of July for them to be vaccinated at a public hospital for closer monitoring of any side effects.

This is in consideration of their previous allergic reaction and a lack of data on the safety profile of receiving the Sinovac vaccine after one dose of an mRNA vaccine.

These people will receive two doses of the Sinovac vaccine, said MOH.

As of Jul 28, MOH has contacted about 5,000 such individuals. Of these, more than 2,000 of them have indicated their interest in the programme.