[ad_1]
SINGAPORE: People should be vaccinated to protect themselves from COVID-19 infection and “for better protection of the whole of society,” said Health Minister Gan Kim Yong.
“While vaccination will remain voluntary, we want to strongly encourage Singaporeans to get vaccinated when their turn comes,” Gan said, speaking to reporters at the National Center for Infectious Diseases (NCID) on Wednesday (December 30).
The vaccine will protect each individual from COVID-19 infection, he added. “But at the societal level, at the community level, if you vaccinate more Singaporeans, it will provide better protection for the whole of society.”
READ: NCID nurse becomes first person in Singapore to receive COVID-19 vaccine
A total of 40 NCID healthcare workers were the first people in Singapore to receive the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine earlier on Wednesday. They will return on January 20, 2021 to receive the second dose of the vaccine.
The remaining NCID staff will be progressively vaccinated, along with the administration and staff of the National Healthcare Group beginning in January, the NCID said in a newsletter Wednesday.
Responding to questions about vaccinations for cabinet members, Gan said the ministry is “working out plans” to ensure “continuity” in the cabinet by vaccinating members in different groups.
However, he stressed that health workers will remain the top priority for vaccination.
With more people vaccinated and protected against COVID-19 infection, this will also allow community and economic activities in Singapore to return to normal as soon as possible, Gan said.
“It is also important that, through vaccination, we hope to reduce and keep the number of infections low. This will help preserve sanitary capacity.
We all know that our healthcare workers have been working very hard over the past few months … And we can do our part, by getting vaccinated, to reduce the risk of infection and thus reduce the burden on our healthcare workers. ,” he said.
“When our turn comes, I can assure you that both PM and I will be among the first to step forward to get vaccinated,” Gan said, adding that more details will be shared later.
READ: ‘The COVID-19 vaccine gives me the assurance that I can go home safely with my children’: NCID nurse
Gan said international travel has been stopped due to COVID-19 border controls and that effective vaccination would allow many travel routes to be re-established, connecting Singapore with the rest of the world.
But relaxing travel restrictions also “depends on multiple factors,” not just vaccination, the health minister said, citing safe driving measures in destination countries.
“Vaccination alone will not allow you to simply open up and forget about all safe distancing measures,” he said, adding that decisions will be made on a case-by-case or country-by-country basis.
“(This is) depending on the countries they want to go to and depending on whether there is a high prevalence of cases in those areas or if the precautionary measures in those areas are adequate.”
READ: COVID-19: The government accepts the recommendations of the committee on the vaccine strategy, to begin vaccinating health workers from December 30
The vaccine will be rolled out to healthcare workers at other public health institutions, including private hospitals, in the coming weeks and months, Gan said. Coverage will also extend to priority groups, including frontline workers and seniors, starting with those 70 and older.
Then it will gradually spread to the rest of the population. The government aims to complete vaccine coverage by the end of 2021, he added.
“We want to assure our Singaporeans that our priority over the next several months is to ensure that the vaccines we use are safe and effective, and that we can implement this program throughout the population smoothly and in an orderly manner. ”
CHECK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its developments
Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram
