Singapore targets having two-thirds of population fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by National Day

SINGAPORE: Singapore can now set a “more ambitious” target of inoculating two-thirds of the population with COVID-19 vaccines by National Day as the country’s vaccination drive picks up pace, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said on Thursday (Jun 24).

“I had earlier shared that we aimed to get at least half of our population fully vaccinated by August,” he said in a Facebook post.

“Since then, we have been working hard to bring forward the delivery of vaccines and speed up the process.”

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in his national address last month that anyone who is eligible for the vaccine and has expressed interest to get one should be able to receive at least their first dose by National Day.

Singapore's National Day falls on Aug 9.

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In an article published by The Straits Times on Thursday, the three co-chairs of the COVID-19 multi-ministry task force  - Mr Wong, Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong and Health Minister Ong Ye Kung - said the Government is working to bring forward the delivery of vaccines and to speed up the process.

Singaporeans aged 12 to 39 were the latest group to be eligible to register their interest in getting a COVID-19 vaccine.

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READ: Singaporeans aged 12 to 39 can register for COVID-19 vaccination from Jun 11

Registration for this group started on Jun 11. Applicants will be progressively invited to book their vaccination appointments via an SMS with a personalised booking link sent to the mobile number they are registered with.

As of Jun 21, about 2.9 million people have received at least the first dose of a COVID-19 shot under the national vaccination programme, including 2 million who have received the second dose and completed the full vaccination regimen.

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