Singapore Will Send 500,000 Covid-19 Vaccines To Australia
With 80% of our population fully vaccinated, Singapore now boasts one of the higher vaccination rates in the world.
Since we have more than enough vaccine supplies, PM Lee shared in a Facebook post on Tuesday (31 Aug) that Singapore will be sending 500,000 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines to Australia.
This is reportedly part of a dose-sharing agreement. Australia, in return, will be sending the same quantity of vaccine doses our way in December.
The ‘returned’ stock of vaccines will potentially be used as booster shots in Singapore.
Help accelerate Australia’s vaccination programme
On Tuesday (31 Aug), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) announced that Singapore and Australia have agreed to a dose-sharing arrangement of Covid-19 vaccines.
Explaining the decision, MFA says Singapore has made good progress in our national vaccination programme and currently has sufficient supplies to meet residents’ needs.
To help accelerate Australia’s vaccination programme, Singapore will be supplying around 500,000 doses of our Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines.
This will help Australia as they are currently fighting a surge in cases caused by the Delta variant.
Australia to ‘return’ Covid-19 vaccines in December
Under the agreement, Australia will return the same quantity of vaccines at a later date.
This date will be determined after we have drawn down on our existing supplies vaccinating the rest of our population, including new incoming long-term pass holders.
According to PM Lee’s Facebook post, this will likely be around December.
The returned doses will then potentially be more useful for Singapore as booster shots for specific segments of our population, said MFA.
Long-standing friendship between Singapore & Australia
MFA elaborated that this dose-sharing agreement is another example of the enduring Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Singapore and Australia.
Throughout the pandemic, both countries have been sharing their best practices in the fight against Covid-19.
We have also been collaborating to keep markets open and supply chains functioning.
PM Lee added that Singapore and Australia have a warm and long-standing friendship, which is why the nation is glad to support Australia’s vaccination efforts.
After all, he said, countries must be united in the battle to quell the pandemic and progress towards our new normal.
Kudos to the authorities
Kudos to the Singapore authorities for doing their part in helping global efforts to combat the pandemic.
Despite being a small country, we have shown that we can make a difference with our willingness to help.
After all, as PM Lee said, it will take everyone’s efforts on a global scale to progress against Covid-19.
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Featured image adapted from Facebook.
