When the 1st batch of Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines arrived in Singapore on 21 Dec, it was a momentous occasion.
Since then, we’ve been able to vaccine our frontline workers and seniors aged 70 and above, ensuring their protection from the virus.
As the rest of the nation awaits their turn, they may be wondering when more batches of the vaccine will arrive.
The good news is the next shipment of the vaccine is expected after Chinese New Year (CNY).
When that happens, those in their 60s should be invited to get their vaccinations soon after, followed by those aged 50 and above.
In a lengthy Facebook post on Sunday (7 Feb), Temasek Holdings chief executive Ho Ching revealed something about the delivery of vaccines to Singapore.
Since the 1st shipment came in on 21 Dec, the delivery of vaccines to Singapore has slowed down.
And this doesn’t just apply to us, but to other countries too.
Why is this so?
Madam Ho, who’s the wife of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, said our vaccines come from a Pfizer plant in Belgium.
That plant, located in a small town named Puurs, is now being upgraded so that they can produce more vaccines.
What she said is backed up by a Bloomberg report on 15 Jan, which said that Pfizer’s factory in Belgium would be renovated.
Hence, it will reduce deliveries for the next 3 to 4 weeks to all countries except the United States.
Once the factory is upgraded, production capacity will be boosted from the middle of Feb, Bloomberg reported.
However, Madam Ho said that even if upgrading is finished on time, more checks will be needed.
That includes testing whether the facilities comply with medical production standards.
When production of vaccines gets back to normal, delivery of the vaccines to Singapore will “get back on track”, Madam Ho said.
This will start with the next shipment after CNY.
She also expects to make up for lost time with “catch-up deliveries”.
Subsequently, when vaccine deliveries are stepped up, the pace of Singapore’s vaccination programme will also be stepped up.
The vaccination programme will also be boosted by shipments of the Moderna vaccine, which was just approved last Wednesday (3 Feb).
Madam Ho expects shipments of the Moderna vaccine to come to Singapore in Mar or Apr.
Like the Pfizer vaccine, the pre-orders should come from Europe, she added.
When the supply of vaccines gets back to normal, Madam Ho revealed that there’s a schedule for vaccinating Singaporeans based on their age group.
Being the most vulnerable age group, seniors aged 70 and above are being vaccinated 1st.
She expects the Government to start inviting those in their 60s “soon”.
They will be followed by those in their 50s, and so on, moving progressively to younger age groups.
She explained that older people are being vaccinated 1st as they’ve at a higher risk of getting serious complication if infected by Covid-19.
Madam Ho also gave us an idea of the criteria the Government is using to prioritise other groups of people.
Besides age, a “parallel track” was opened up based on risk of exposure.
Those with the highest risk of exposure are ostensibly healthcare workers, ambulance staff, hotel staff serving those on Stay-Home Notice (SHN) and Covid-19 researchers.
That’s why National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) workers were the 1st to get the vaccine.
Another parallel vaccination track would be workers in essential services like armed forces personnel and public transport staff.
She also said the Government would also vaccinate residents of migrant-worker dormitories, based on the large clusters they could form.
Madam Ho also commented on the recent incident where a staff from the Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC) mistakenly received 5 doses of vaccine.
She said we’re all human, and various mistakes are can to be made during mass exercises like vaccination.
Thus, she emphasised the need to have various protocols to reduce the possility of human error.
Read her full post on vaccines here.
As more vaccine shipments are expected to arrive soon, younger Singaporeans who’re eager to get vaccinated should be assured that their turn will come, someday.
However, Madam Ho has warned that though being vaccinated means we’re protected against the effects of Covid-19, we may still be “silent carriers”.
Thus, we should still continue to wear masks, wash our hands regularly and keep a safe distance from others.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at hello@mustsharenews.com.
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