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FILE PHOTO: The first shipment of vaccine against coronavirus disease (COVID-19) arrives in Singapore on December 21, 2020. Mohd Fyrol / Ministry of Communications and Information via REUTERS
SINGAPORE – A committee of experts convened by the Singapore Ministry of Health recommended that all residents medically eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine take vaccines when available, though it said vaccination should remain a voluntary option.
The recommendation comes as Singapore’s success in controlling the virus has some questioning whether they should take the hit. The city-state has been reporting nearly zero new local cases daily for the past few weeks.
The expert committee, convened in October, recommended achieving the highest possible level of population coverage for COVID-19 vaccination to reduce the overall proportion of the population that is susceptible to the disease and the likelihood of uncontrolled transmission chains. a statement. on Sunday he said.
Singapore approved the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, the first batch of which arrived on December 21.
It has signed pre-purchase agreements and made upfront payments on several candidate vaccines, including those being developed by Moderna and Sinovac. He hopes to have enough vaccines for the 5.7 million people by the third quarter of 2021.
The government has said the vaccines will be free, voluntary, and will be given first to healthcare workers and the elderly.
The country is set to lift more antivirus restrictions starting Monday, including allowing groups of eight to meet in public, from a limit of five, and increasing capacity limits for large gatherings.
For more news on the new coronavirus, click here.
What you need to know about the coronavirus.
For more information on COVID-19, call the DOH hotline: (02) 86517800 local 1149/1150.
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