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SINGAPORE: Senior RN Sarah Lim became the first person in Singapore to receive a COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday (December 30), with a total of 40 healthcare workers at the National Center for Infectious Diseases (NCID) receiving the vaccine.
They are receiving their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by the American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and the German firm BioNTech. This vaccine requires two injections, 21 days apart. Those who receive the first dose on Wednesday are scheduled to return for their second dose on January 20 of the next year.
Ms. Lim, 46, is stationed in the Special Caution Area at NCID Clinic J and conducts screening for suspected COVID-19 cases. It was a simple process for her to receive the jab, and the nurse gave her the injection asking her to “relax” as she rolled up her sleeves.
READ: ‘The COVID-19 vaccine gives me the assurance that I can go home safely with my children’: NCID nurse
Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, he conducted pre-screening, triage, and performed procedures such as blood draws and EKGs. He also coordinated clinic operations in the Special Caution Area at NCID’s J. Clinic.
Dr. Kalisvar Marimuthu, a 43-year-old senior consultant handling suspected and confirmed COVID-19 cases, was also vaccinated on Wednesday.
He specializes in infectious diseases and infection control and was also involved in managing infection control in community care facilities.
Dr. Kalisvar Marimuthu, a 43-year-old senior consultant handling suspected and confirmed COVID-19 cases, was one of the healthcare workers at the National Center for Infectious Diseases who received the vaccine on December 30, 2020.
NCID Senior Nurse Mohamed Firdaus Mohamed Salleh, 38, was also vaccinated. The ICU nurse currently cares for COVID-19 patients.
When they arrive for vaccination, staff will receive an information sheet and a vaccination screening form. While waiting for their turn, they will be asked to fill out their personal information, medical information, and declaration and consent on the vaccine screening form, the NCID said in a fact sheet.
Singapore began its COVID-19 vaccination exercise on December 30, 2020, and health workers from the National Center for Infectious Diseases were the first to receive the vaccines.
Before the vaccine is administered, the vaccinator will ask the staff member a series of questions related to vaccine eligibility, for the second part of the vaccine evaluation form.
If they can get the vaccine, the vaccinator will prepare the vaccine and administer it intramuscularly into the arm of the staff member. After receiving the vaccine, staff members will receive a vaccination card and will be observed for 30 minutes on the spot, to make sure they have “tolerated the vaccine well,” the NCID said in the fact sheet.
The remaining NCID staff will be progressively vaccinated, along with the administration and staff of the National Healthcare Group beginning in January, the fact sheet reads.
READ: COVID-19: The government accepts the recommendations of the committee on the vaccination strategy, to begin vaccinating health workers from December 30
Wednesday’s vaccination exercise comes after the Government accepted all the recommendations of the Expert Committee on COVID-19 Vaccination on December 27.
A health worker at the National Center for Infectious Diseases prepares to administer one of the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in Singapore on December 30, 2020.
Public health institutions, including acute care hospitals, community hospitals and polyclinics, as well as private hospitals, will progressively arrange for staff members to be vaccinated within their respective facilities, said the Ministry of Health (MINSA).
The Ministry of Health also aims to begin vaccinating the elderly, starting with those aged 70 and over, starting in February next year.
After that, other medically eligible Singaporeans and long-term residents will be vaccinated, the Health Ministry said. The vaccine is free to all Singaporeans and long-term residents, including long-term work permit holders.
As described in the committee’s full recommendation to the government, the “ultimate goal” of Singapore’s vaccination strategy against COVID-19 is to achieve the highest level of population coverage possible.
The committee had said that this approach protects as many people as possible and will significantly reduce the overall proportion of people susceptible to the disease and the likelihood of uncontrolled chains of transmission in the community.
NOTE: All COVID-19 Vaccine Eligible People in Singapore Should Get Vaccinated, Says Chair of Expert Committee
“High vaccination coverage in the population also indirectly protects other people who may not yet be eligible for vaccination. As vaccines become more available, all Singapore residents who are medically eligible for vaccination should be vaccinated, although vaccination should remain voluntary, ”the committee said.
Singapore began its COVID-19 vaccination exercise on December 30, 2020, and health workers from the National Center for Infectious Diseases were the first to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
Currently, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is not recommended for pregnant women, those under 16 years of age, and immunosuppressed individuals.
The first shipment of the vaccine arrived in Singapore on December 21, making Singapore the first country in Asia to obtain it.
Other vaccines are also expected to arrive in Singapore in the coming months, and the country “will have enough vaccines for everyone” by the third quarter of next year if all goes according to plan, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in his televised address. to the nation on December 14.
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