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SINGAPORE: Approximately 1,050 front-line health care officers from the National Team will be vaccinated against COVID-19 in the coming weeks, the Interior Ministry said on Monday (January 11).
Among those who received the vaccines: Singapore Civil Defense Force (SCDF) Emergency Medical Services (EMS) officers, staff from the National Team Medical Services Division, and officers from the Singapore Civil Defense Force (SCDF) medical services division. Singapore Prison Service.
Front-line officers of the National Team Science and Technology Agency conducting laboratory testing on traveler swab samples will also receive the vaccine.
A total of 1,123 local team officials had been identified for this vaccination operation, and 94 percent had agreed to receive the vaccine, MHA said. Eighty officers were vaccinated Monday.
The vaccination exercise, including the second dose, for the 1,050 local team officials is expected to be completed in six weeks, the MHA said.
READ: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong receives first dose of COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer-BioNTech
This comes after the government accepted a vaccination strategy that consists of first inoculating health workers as of December 30 last year and extending it to more health institutions in the coming weeks.
The goal is also to vaccinate the elderly, starting with those aged 70 and over, starting in February, before vaccinating other Singaporeans and long-term residents who are medically eligible for vaccination.
The COVID-19 vaccine, developed by the American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and the German company BioNTech, requires two injections 21 days apart.
READ: NCID nurse becomes first person in Singapore to receive COVID-19 vaccine
MHA said Monday that vaccinated agents will be monitored for 30 minutes for any adverse reactions. Your second dose will be scheduled in approximately three weeks.
“Prior to vaccination, all officers were screened to determine their eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine, based on their medical history and pre-existing medical conditions,” MHA said.
“People with medical conditions that concern them will be checked by the local team medical officials before they get vaccinated.”
FIRST TO GET THE JAB
The first local team health care leader to be vaccinated was SCDF Warrant Officer 1 (WO1), Mohamed Shafiee Jamin. The 38-year-old is an SCDF paramedic at the Kallang Fire Station who responds to day-to-day medical emergencies.
WO1 Shafiee has responded to and relayed suspected COVID-19 cases as part of her job.
“The vaccine gives me the security and peace of mind to safely carry out my front-line response duties as a paramedic at SCDF,” he said.
“Getting the vaccine is not just for my personal safety, but also for the safety of patients, my co-workers and my loved ones.”
WO1’s wife Shafiee is also a SCDF paramedic and will receive the vaccine in the next few days.
READ: COVID-19: The government accepts the recommendations of the committee on the vaccination strategy, to start vaccinating health workers from December 30
Another local team officer who was vaccinated on Monday was Lt. Col. Janice Oh. The 42-year-old is a senior deputy director of SCDF’s EMS department.
Lt. Col Oh plans policies and exercises for the EMS team, including the COVID-19 vaccination and response exercise. She is also involved in frontline paramedic duties.
The officer said that SCDF EMS personnel will continue to treat suspected COVID-19 cases with full personal protective equipment, regardless of whether they have been vaccinated.
“SCDF EMS staff work on the front lines on a daily basis and come into close contact with members of the public in their role,” he added.
“Vaccination provides both SCDF EMS personnel and the public additional protection against COVID-19.”
