He said that if the booster take-up is low, especially among the elderly and those with comorbidities, hospitalisation numbers will go up.

“This is for sure,” Khairy said on Twitter today. “If you get an appointment, take the booster.”

The implementation of nationwide booster doses started on Oct 13, initially involving high-risk groups such as the elderly, those who were immunocompromised, people with comorbidities, healthcare workers and workers at care homes.

For a start, some 8.75 million people are targeted to receive their third dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. They include 600,000 frontline workers, 150,000 immunocompromised patients, three million elderly folks and workers at long-term care facilities, as well as five million individuals with comorbidities.