Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 6-4 years approved

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Pfizer's Comirnaty COVID 19 vaccine has been approved for use in children aged six months through four years. The vaccine regimen for the primary series in this age group consists of three 3 microgram doses.

The first two doses should be administered three weeks apart, followed by a third dose to be administered at least eight weeks after the second dose, the Health Sciences Authority said.

Clinical data from an ongoing trial by Pfizer showed that the immune response in young children with a three-dose primary series was comparable to that in adults aged 16 to 25 years who received two higher doses of 30 micrograms as the primary series vaccine.

Singapore's second vaccine is authorised for use in young children. Moderna s two-dose Spikevax COVID 19 vaccine, approved in August, was approved for use in children aged six months to five years.

The Moderna vaccine will be available next month, and the Pfizer shot is expected to be available by the end of the year, MOH said.

Taiwan to end COVID 19 quarantine for arrivals, welcome back tourists.

Taiwan will end its mandatory COVID 19 quarantine for arrivals from Oct 13th. Arrivals will still have to monitor their health for a seven-day period and take rapid tests.

On Saturday, a series of other measures came into effect, including ending the polymerase chain reaction PCR tests for arrivals and resuming visa-free entry for citizens of countries that previously had that status.

Cabinet spokesman Lo Ping-cheng told reporters that the time had come to reopen borders with a well vaccinated population and the pandemic under control at home.

Jail for men who helped smuggle suspects in Tradenation luxury goods scam out of Singapore in lorry.

Two logistics workers who conspired to help smuggle the suspects in the multimillion-dollar Tradenation luxury goods scam out of Singapore in a lorry were sentenced to jail on Thursday September 29. The two worked together to smuggle Singaporean Pi Jiapeng and Thai national Pansuk Siriwipa into Malaysia for a fee. Pi and Pansuk were under investigation by the Singapore Police Force at the time over a series of alleged cheating cases.

In mitigation, both Fazli and Alias said they needed to support their family.

A new inland ash scattering site will open at Mandai by the year 2024. It is called the Garden of Serenity and will be introduced with the new Mandai Crematorium Complex.

The Singapore's second such facility will be the new complex. It was originally expected to be completed by the end of 2022, but it was delayed, with its main contractor Greatearth Construction citing financial difficulties in 2021.

The first application at Choa Chu Kang Cemetery Complex opened in May 2021 has received more than 1,900 applications as of mid-September.

With Singapore's ageing population, the annual number of deaths in the country is projected to double, said NEA. Demand for after-death services infrastructure and industry manpower would be driven by the projected doubling of annual deaths.