Some of you might have seen this or received it in the mail. November 2020 saw the launch of a Vaccination Subsidy Scheme by the Government. All this time, we have had the NCIS - National Childhood Immunisation Schedule which most parents would be familiar with. With the implementation of the Vaccination Subsidy Scheme, Singaporean Children below 5 years old will now receive full subsidy for all Required Vaccines done at our clinic. For Singaporean Adults, the Government now gives significant subsidies to Pioneer Generation, Merdeka Generation and CHAS Blue & Orange card holders for relevant vaccines. Singaporeans without any CHAS card or those holding Green CHAS cards will also receive vaccination subsidies for relevant vaccines required. In particular, we are focussing on the Elderly (those above 65 years old) and those with Chronic Medical Conditions such as Diabetes, Asthma, Heart Disease and Kidney Disease. If you have been coming to the clinic, I would most likely have already vaccinated you or talked to you or your parents about vaccinations. For the elderly there are probably 2 to 3 Vaccinatins that we may want to focus on. Influenza Vaccination ( AKA “ FLU” Vaccination) This should be done every 6 to 12 months depending on the recommendation from the WHO. The Influenza Vaccine is generally released 2 times a year. Once in March/April and another in October/November. Sometimes, when there is a change in the circulating Influenza Viruses, the vaccine will be updated and we will need to do the vaccination twice in a year. This year, for the 2020/2021 Northern Hemisphere Vaccine, there was a change in the H1N1 and H3N2 Influenza A viruses. So for those of us who had done the earlier vaccine this year, we had to revaccinate again. If you have done the Influenza Vaccine earlier this year, you should come down for another dose. Pneumococcal Vaccination - For Chest/Lung infection. There are 2 types of Pneumococcal Vaccines that need to be done. -Prevenar 13 -Pneumovax 23 For those above 65 years old, you will need to do 1 dose of Prevenar 13 first and then the Pneumovax 23 1 year later. For those below 65 years old, if you have Diabetes, then the Pneumovax 23 should be done. Prevenar 13 is to be done when you are 65 years old. MMR - Measle, Mumps and Rubella. The older age groups of patients would not have had the MMR vaccine done when they were younger. All Children in Singapore are supposed to have it done at 12 months and 15 months. For the MMR Vaccine, there are 2 doses to be done 1 month apart. Quite a lot to process but hey, the subsidies for for these important vaccinations is significant. Prevention is important.
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2020/2021 Nothern Hemisphere Influenza VaccinationFor this current season, the 2020/2021 Northern Hemisphere Influenza Vaccine has been updated to incorporate changes to the Influenza A Viruses - H1N1 and H3N2.
We were sent a circular from MOH on 16/10/2020 regarding this. In the circular, it is mentioned that even if you have done the 2020 Southern Hemisphere Influenza Vaccine earlier this year, you should still do the 2020/2021 Northern Hemisphere Influenza Vaccine for better protection. The Influenza Vaccine is released in 2 batches every year. Usually in April/May and October/November. Previously we would usually recommend that it be done once a year. But when there are changes to the viruses, then there is a need to revaccinate with the updated vaccine. Starting from this month, there is an Adult Vaccination Program by the Government. There is a list of recommended vaccinations based on risk factors and subsidy from the Government for these relevant vaccines. In particular for the Influenza Vaccine, for those above 65 years of age, the cost of the vaccine for Pioneer Card holders is $9 and for Merdeka Generation Card holders is $18. |
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