[ad_1]
SINGAPORE – The first shipment of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine arrived in Singapore on Wednesday afternoon (February 17).
It is another step forward in the Republic’s bid to control the Covid-19 outbreak.
Sources told The Straits Times that the vaccine was carried by a Singapore Airlines Boeing 747-700 cargo plane that took off from Brussels in Belgium and transited through Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. The plane was expected to land at Changi Airport around 2.15pm, but it arrived earlier than planned.
The Health Ministry initially said on February 3 that the first shipment of the Modern Covid-19 vaccine would arrive around March, as long as there were no disruptions to the shipment schedule.
SIA said in a statement later Wednesday that loading the vaccines onto a plane in Brussels was prioritized. Unloading from the plane in Singapore was also prioritized, and the vaccines were moved to a cold chain facility run by ground operator Sats for further storage and transportation.
SIA Senior Vice President of Cargo Chin Yau Seng said the airline is pleased to support national vaccination programs by successfully transporting Covid-19 vaccines.
He noted that the carrier has already shipped Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines to Singapore, Australia and New Zealand, as well as Sinovac Covid-19 vaccines to Indonesia, for the past two months.
“We, together with our partners in the Singapore air hub and throughout the supply chain, will continue to support this important global effort aimed at controlling this pandemic,” he added.
The Moderna vaccine is the second Covid-19 vaccine approved for use in Singapore after the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which was approved in mid-December.
Both use new mRNA technology, which involves injecting fragments of the virus’ genetic material into the human body to stimulate an immune response.
The reported side effects of both vaccines are similar and include pain, swelling at the injection site, fatigue, headache, muscle pain, fever, chills, vomiting, and joint pain after vaccination.
The Moderna vaccine requires two doses administered 28 days apart, while the two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine are taken 21 days apart.
The Health Sciences Authority said on February 3 that its review of available clinical data found that the Moderna vaccine demonstrated a high efficacy of 94 percent, with benefits that outweigh the risks.
This means there is a 94 percent reduction in symptomatic Covid-19 disease in a group of vaccinated people, compared to a group of similarly sized unvaccinated people, he said.
Singapore’s Covid-19 vaccination program will enter its next phase on February 22, when seniors on the island begin receiving their injections.
[ad_2]
