Singapore will start COVID-19 vaccinations for children aged 5 to 11 years before the end of this year, its health ministry said late on Friday.

The Southeast Asian city-state has already vaccinated 87% of its 5.5 million population, and authorities were rushing to get children vaccinated amid concerns over rising number of paediatric COVID-19 cases.

The dosage used for children will be one-third of that used in adults, similar to the United States.

Currently, only Pfizer-BioNTech "Comirnaty"  vaccine has been approved for children's usage in Singapore, the health ministry added.

Singapore has also signed a new supply agreement with Pfizer-BioNTech for the COVID-19 vaccine, it said, without specifying how many vials will be supplied.

 

 

(Reporting by Chen Lin in Singapore, editing by Louise Heavens)