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SINGAPORE: Singapore received its first shipment of COVID-19 vaccine from Moderna on Wednesday (February 17), two weeks after authorities approved its use here.
The vaccines were brought aboard Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight SQ7137, a scheduled cargo service from Brussels, Belgium, and arrived in Singapore at around 1:40 p.m.
“Loading the vaccines onto the aircraft in Brussels was prioritized and given priority during offloading in Singapore. They were then transported to SATS ‘cold chain facility, Coolport, for further storage and ground transportation,” SIA said. on Wednesday.
On February 3, it was announced that the Health Sciences Authority granted a provisional authorization for Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine to be used in Singapore for persons 18 years of age and older.
This is the second vaccine approved for use in Singapore.
On December 21, SIA delivered the first shipment of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine to Singapore.
Education Minister Lawrence Wong, co-chair of the COVID-19 multi-ministry task force, said on Facebook that another batch of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine arrived in Singapore on Wednesday morning.
“More vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech will arrive in the course of the year,” he added.
“We will continue to closely monitor our supplies, to meet our goal of vaccinating all Singaporeans and long-term residents by the end of this year.”
COLD CHAIN
Explaining its role in the vaccine handling process, SATS said that once the shipment reaches the airport, the temperature-controlled cargo containers will be unloaded onto cold dollies, which have temperature recorders and location tracking functions.
The containers are then brought to Coolport in an “unbroken cold chain,” he added.
READ: How COVID-19 vaccines are transported to Singapore and stored here
At Coolport, individual checks are carried out before the containers are stored in cold rooms with the required temperature range.
They will then be transferred through temperature controlled truck docks for agents or freight forwarders to deliver.
The first shipment of Moderna COVID-19 vaccines was unloaded from a Singapore Airlines flight on February 17, 2021 (Photo: Ministry of Communications and Information)
Vaccines, both Moderna and Pfizer, must be stored at very low temperatures because they are made from easily destroyed genetic material called mRNA (messenger ribonucleic acid).
Moderna’s vaccine can be stored at -20 degrees Celsius and lasts for 30 days in a refrigerator, while Pfizer’s vaccine must be stored at -70 degrees Celsius and only lasts five days at standard refrigerator temperatures.
DELIVERY OF VACCINES TO OTHER COUNTRIES
SIA has also delivered COVID-19 vaccines to other countries.
The airline transported a shipment of the vaccine from Sinovac to Indonesia on February 2 using an airliner from Singapore, where it was stored for 2.5 hours after arriving from Beijing.
On February 15, SIA delivered a batch of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to Australia and New Zealand through its Singapore hub.
READ: Budget 2021 – The aviation sector will receive S $ 870 million in aid this year
“Singapore’s geographic location, coupled with SIA’s extensive network connectivity and strong pharmaceutical handling capabilities at Singapore’s Changi Airport, positions it as a key transit hub for the transportation and distribution of pharmaceuticals.” SIA said.
The airline said it has made cargo space available on its flights and will “give higher priority” to COVID-19 vaccine shipments through key trade routes for vaccines.
“This means preparing the airline’s seven Boeing 747-400 cargo aircraft, as well as the airline’s fleet of passenger aircraft to be deployed in cargo operations to increase vaccine transport capacity where needed,” added SIA. .
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