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SINGAPORE – While most wonder when their turn will come, a Singaporean has already received their dose of Covid-19 in a mass vaccination exercise.
Dr. Martin Tan was one of the first to be vaccinated in Britain, which in turn is the first Western country to implement mass vaccination against the coronavirus.
Dr. Tan, 27, received the first of his two vaccine injections on Wednesday (December 9) at 12:45 p.m. M. In London (8.45pm Singapore Time), where he is an intern officer doing his rotation in Respiratory Medicine.
He received his vaccine from the second day of the exercise because his job involves direct contact with Covid-19 patients. He has helped care for them at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead in London since August.
He agreed that getting the vaccine on time brings its own concerns. Pfizer has obtained compensation from the British government in the event of a mishap.
“Of course, this is a new vaccine with a new delivery method (mRNA). Most doctors were also skeptical about the possible risks of this being ‘rushed’ because it has been so quick to approve it,” he said. .
Vaccines typically take eight to ten years to develop, test, and reach the market. The first in the Covid-19 vaccines have reduced it to less than a year.
Still, Dr. Tan added, “I work with Covid-19 patients every day, so it’s a balance of risk and benefit. And I accept the risks given the benefits of the vaccine.”
He knew that sooner or later he would have to get vaccinated and he also had an added incentive. “I was looking forward to it because this is our ticket back to normality in this world. I am dying to go back to Singapore to see my family and eat,” he said.
“I usually know when I can go back to Singapore, but this is the first time that things have been more uncertain.”
He has been in Britain since 2014 for his medical education.
His last visit home was in March, when he first had to be on notice to stay home, followed by quarantine when someone sitting near him on the return flight was diagnosed with Covid-19.
Dr Tan, who described himself as “still single, available and ready to mingle,” returned to London in late July to start working there.
He received the injection, which is free according to the UK’s National Health Service, at the hospital where he works. There is an electronic dating system, he said, so there are no queues or crowds, to ensure social distancing.
Unlike Singapore, he said, the Covid-19 situation in Britain is not well controlled. “We were having a second wave, which is putting a lot of pressure on the health service and beds across the country, but it seems to be getting better now,” he said.
So for him, getting the vaccine was a no-brainer. “The risks of contracting Covid-19 and its complications are significantly higher than those of the vaccine according to the data produced.”
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