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(FILES) This file photo taken on November 17, 2020 shows the logos of the American pharmaceutical company Pfizer behind the vials with adhesive labels of the Covid-19 vaccine attached, as said by the European Medicines Agency on December 21, 2020 that had approved the Pfizer- BioNTech Coronavirus Vaccine, paving the way for inoculations to start across the EU in a few days. – The Amsterdam-based regulator drastically advanced the decision on the jab from December 29, following pressure to speed up the process from Germany and other EU states. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)
SINGAPORE – Singapore received the first delivery of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine in Asia on Monday, culminating what the city-state’s prime minister said had been a “long and arduous” year in fighting the pandemic.
Last week, the commercial and financial center joined a handful of other countries around the world, including Britain and the United States, in approving the jab.
It plans to inoculate its 5.7 million people by the third quarter of 2021, prioritizing healthcare workers, the elderly and the medically vulnerable.
“Delighted to see the first shipment of vaccines arrive in Singapore,” wrote Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Facebook after a Singapore Airlines flight with the vaccines landed from Belgium.
“It has been a long and arduous year, and I hope this news brings joy to Singaporeans this holiday season and a reason to be optimistic for 2021.”
Vaccination in Singapore will be voluntary, but Lee has strongly encouraged people to participate in the campaign.
The Pfizer vaccine requires a two-shot treatment and must be kept at temperatures below -70 degrees Celsius (-94 degrees Fahrenheit) to work effectively.
Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung said a local facility was producing four tons of dry ice every day to adequately cool products.
Singapore will further ease social distancing restrictions from December 28 after weeks of hardly any local coronavirus infections.
Initially, authorities kept COVID-19 in check through rigorous contact tracing, but the virus later spread to dormitories that housed low-paid migrant workers.
The city has reported more than 58,000 virus infections, but a relatively low number of 29 deaths. Its borders remain closed to most international visitors.
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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