SINGAPORE: All polyclinics vaccinations under the National Childhood Immunisation Schedule (NCIS) will be subsidised for Singaporeans by the end of 2020, and the subsidies will be extended to general practitioner clinics under the Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS).
This was announced by the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Wednesday (Aug 28), as part of efforts to make childhood preventive healthcare more affordable and accessible.
Currently, most vaccinations under NCIS, such as Hepatitis B as well as measles, mumps and rubella, are fully subsidised at polyclinics.
With the changes, vaccinations for pneumococcal disease and human papillomavirus (HPV) will be subsidised as well.
The NCIS lists childhood vaccinations recommended for protection against common vaccine-preventable diseases in Singapore.
Subsidies currently apply to vaccinations for diseases that have a high outbreak potential, such as measles.
For vaccinations recommended for personal protection, such as the one against pneumococcal disease, take-up rates are “much lower”, said MOH, although they offer significant protection against disease.
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Apart from vaccinations, the ministry announced that childhood developmental screenings will also be subsidised at the more than 1,000 CHAS GPs. They are currently only subsidised at polyclinics.
