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SINGAPORE – More details of the effort to vaccinate Singaporeans against Covid-19, including the different phases of the vaccination program and who will go through them, are expected to be released in early January, Education Minister Lawrence said Tuesday. Wong (December 22). ).
The exact details on the launch of the vaccine would depend on multiple variables, including its supply and delivery schedule, and when other vaccines are authorized for use here, added Mr. Wong, who co-chairs the Multi-Ministerial Working Group on Covid. – 19.
These factors are still uncertain for now, he said.
“When we have more certainty of when, what kind of supply (and) delivery schedule we can expect in Singapore, that will coincide with the vaccination schedule, the different phases of vaccination,” Wong said, a day after Singapore received your first shipment of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
The minister spoke to journalists at the Education Ministry headquarters about stricter border measures for travelers from the UK, where a highly contagious strain of the virus has been circulating.
When asked for an estimate of the frequency of incoming vaccines, Mr. Wong said it is premature to do so, given that other vaccines for which Singapore has advance purchase agreements have not yet been authorized for use here.
These include those of Moderna in the United States and Sinovac in China.
But the government has a rough idea of when the Pfizer, Moderna and Sinovac vaccines will arrive, the minister said.
“Assuming all three are licensed for pandemic use … we have a rough indication,” he said. “But it is still early, it is still very preliminary and it can change.”
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been approved by the Singapore Health Sciences Authority for persons 16 years of age and older.
Mr. Wong said that, as previously announced by the task force, vaccines will be prioritized for groups such as healthcare and frontline workers.
The first vaccines will be given to these workers sometime between the end of the year and January or February, he said.
“I think it will be some time before we can talk about opening up and offering the vaccine to the general population,” he added.
The deployment to the population of Singapore will also take place over several months, and if all goes according to plan, Singapore will have enough vaccines to inoculate everyone by the third quarter of 2021. But if other factors emerge, the vaccination schedule could boost. until the end of 2021 or beyond. Or if some vaccines come earlier, this could be anticipated, Mr. Wong said.
When asked about the spread of the new and apparently more infectious strain of virus that has emerged in Britain, Wong said the new strain has yet to be detected in Singapore.
When asked if the government is concerned that the vaccines that have arrived are not effective against this latest strain, he said: “That is uncertain; this is part of the question that I think scientists around the world are asking.
“And I’m sure our scientists and experts, along with experts from around the world, will ask these questions and seek answers.”
As for what Singapore would do differently if the new strain is detected here, Wong said the country will have to be more cautious when implementing existing safeguards against the virus, including swift intervention to isolate close contacts whenever an infected person is identified. contain and enclose a possible group.
“But before we even get there, we do everything we can to keep our borders safe,” Wong said.
That is why Singapore announced on Tuesday that it will deny entry and transit to all long-term pass holders and short-term visitors with a recent travel history to the UK, he noted.
Still, no measure is 100% foolproof, and the tension could still reach another country, he added.
“Once again, we are in a new situation, we have to be vigilant. We have to watch how the virus spreads, how the new strain spreads around the world, and then we have to constantly adjust our measures at the borders and accordingly within the community, “he said.
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