(July 26): Singapore is looking to vaccinate children between six months and four years towards the fourth quarter of this year, following the death of two children from Covid-19 infections in the city-state over the past two months.

The authorities are currently doing the necessary preparation to roll out the vaccines, Singapore’s Ministry of Health said in an emailed response to Bloomberg News.

The Southeast Asian nation, which is going through a wave of infections driven by Omicron variants, reported its first Covid death in a patient under 12 years in June.

About 3.9% of the 1.7 million Covid cases reported locally since the start of the pandemic were children under five, according to the Ministry of Health. “Children under four are much more resilient than older patients, but more vulnerable compared to older children and young adults.”

Singapore’s move to inoculate younger children comes as Hong Kong weighs approving vaccines for children under three. In June, US health officials cleared vaccines for infants and toddlers, the last remaining age group that hasn’t been eligible.