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SINGAPORE: COVID-19 vaccines have started for Singapore Armed Forces personnel, with plans to vaccinate most of the active SAF forces by the middle of this year, the Ministry of Defense (MINDEF) said in a publication. on Facebook on Thursday (Jan 21). ).
Active forces include regular and full-time national soldiers, but not ready-to-operate national military.
Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen and Defense Minister of State Zaqy Mohamad were part of an initial group of SAF personnel who received the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on January 14.
They will receive their second dose 21 days later.
This initial phase of the vaccination program for SAF and first-line COVID-19 medical personnel is expected to be completed in six weeks, including the second dose.
According to MINDEF, Dr. Ng said the next group in line will be personnel from critical units, including maritime security, air defense and counterterrorism, before moving on to the rest of the SAF.
“Dr. Ng shared that there are plans in place to vaccinate most of the active SAF forces by the middle of this year,” MINDEF said.
“All active duty SAF personnel who are medically eligible to be vaccinated will be able to receive the vaccine.”
MINDEF added that the broad vaccination coverage in the SAFs will protect their men and women in service, support their operational readiness, and allow a greater resumption of training and force-building activities.
The SAF has gradually resumed activities such as camp training and individual fitness testing, although some exercises abroad remain suspended.
The ministry quoted Dr. Ng as saying that the blow was “mild and painless.”
“We want to do (the vaccination) safely and with the experience that I have had, the processes have worked very well,” he said.
In a separate Facebook post on Thursday, Dr. Ng said the goal is to complete vaccines by the middle of this year, “if vaccine supplies arrive as planned.”
“Vaccines to achieve herd immunity will provide security for our soldiers in critical units to function safely and effectively while performing their security duties,” he said.
“When it is achieved, we can resume training and full operations,” he added.
