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SINGAPORE (Reuters) – An expert committee convened by Singapore’s Health Ministry has recommended that all residents medically eligible for COVID-19 vaccination to inject themselves as they become available, though it said vaccination should remain a voluntary option. .
The recommendation comes as Singapore’s success in controlling the virus has some questioning whether they should take the hit. The city-state has been reporting nearly zero new local cases daily for the past few weeks.
The expert committee, convened in October, recommended achieving the highest possible level of population coverage for COVID-19 vaccination to reduce the overall proportion of the population that is susceptible to the disease and the likelihood of uncontrolled transmission chains. a statement. on Sunday he said.
Singapore approved the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, the first batch of which arrived on December 21.
It has signed pre-purchase agreements and made upfront payments on several candidate vaccines, including those being developed by Moderna and Sinovac. He hopes to have enough vaccines for the 5.7 million people by the third quarter of 2021.
The government has said the vaccines will be free, voluntary, and will be given first to healthcare workers and the elderly.
The country is set to lift more antivirus restrictions starting Monday, including allowing groups of eight to meet in public, from a limit of five, and increasing capacity limits for large gatherings.
(Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan in Singapore; Edited by Kenneth Maxwell)
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