Vaccination Differentiation Measures in schools

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan, Pioneer SMC

Question

To ask the Minister for Education what are the Ministry's plans to seamlessly execute COVID-19 vaccination for primary school children without disrupting national exams, school exams, co-curricular activities and other classroom time and attendance.

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Mr Darryl David, Ang Mo Kio GRC

Question

To ask the Minister for Education (a) whether vaccination differentiation measures will be adopted in pre-schools and schools with regard to children aged 5 to 11 who have not undergone COVID-19 vaccination; and (b) what support will be given to those young children (and their families) who have to miss school should they develop any adverse reaction to the vaccination.

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Ms Foo Mee Har, West Coast GRC

Question

To ask the Minister for Education whether vaccination will be made a requirement for eligible children in order for them to attend school in person.

Response

1. There are presently no plans to make COVID-19 vaccination a requirement for physical attendance in our pre-schools or primary schools. The focus at this point in time is to ensure our students are well protected against COVID-19 as we begin vaccination for those aged five to 11 years. We have seen an encouraging start to the vaccination exercise for our children. We will continue to work with our parents to achieve a high vaccination rate so that it would be possible to resume as many school activities as possible in the coming months. The pace, extent and approach towards resuming these school activities would depend on various factors, including vaccination rates as well as the overall national posture.

2. Students whose vaccination appointments are during school hours, as well as those feeling unwell from vaccination will be excused from school. Schools will help students catch up with missed lessons and work. We strongly encourage parents to get their child vaccinated as early as possible to keep our children, families and the wider community safe and resilient against COVID-19.