Chan Chun Sing Says All Residents Who’re Eligible Will Be Able To Get Vaccinated Conveniently
Since it was revealed that Singapore would be giving out free Covid-19 vaccines, many Singaporeans have already been progressively given the jab.
Senior citizens will get their jabs starting on Wednesday (27 Jan), and vaccination centres have already been set up in Tanjong Pagar Community Centre (CC) and Teck Ghee CC in Ang Mo Kio.
Those who live in other estates, however, don’t have to wait long as all Singapore towns will soon have 1 vaccination centre each.
This was revealed by Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing on Facebook.
He also said the centres will be able to vaccinate about 2,000 people daily.
Towns to get vaccination centres by end-March
In his Facebook post on Tuesday (26 Jan), Mr Chan said all Singapore towns will get vaccination centres by the end of March.
This is so that all residents who’re medically eligible for a jab won’t have to travel far to get one.
According to the HDB, there are 24 towns in Singapore, from Ang Mo Kio to Jurong West and Yishun.
Each of them will have 1 vaccination centre. However, it’s not clear whether the 3 estates – Bukit Timah, Marine Parade and Central – will have any.
300 bookings so far in Tanjong Pagar on 1st day
One of these centres is Tanjong Pagar CC, which Mr Chan visited on Tuesday (26 Jan).
He said seniors in the town were sent invitation letters to get their jabs on Monday (25 Jan), and so far, 300 have made bookings for the 1st day of vaccinations.
Mr Chan, said that’s “encouraging”, and he expects the response to get even better as more people get their jabs.
That’s because he thinks people will have increasing confidence in the vaccine.
650 volunteers at Tanjong Pagar CC
Mr Chan, who’s also an MP for Tanjong Pagar GRC, said the CC has 650 volunteers who will reach out to seniors to share information, help them make appointments, and answer questions.
The vaccination centre at the CC also has express lanes for seniors who’re less mobile and wider booths for wheelchairs.
Tanjong Pagar and Ang Mo Kio were chosen because of the large number of seniors in these towns, the Ministry of Health (MOH) had earlier said.
Thus, the 1st 2 vaccination centres are at Tanjong Pagar and Teck Ghee CCs.
Mr Chan himself will also be vaccinated at Tanjong Pagar CC on Wednesday (27 Jan), reported The Straits Times (ST).
Each centre will be able to vaccinate 2,000 people daily
Mr Chan told ST that the centres will be able to vaccinate 2,000 people daily, from 8am to 10pm.
He added that CCs were chosen as they are familiar to the elderly, noting that the giving out of face masks and TraceTogether tokens were also carried out there.
As to why so many vaccination centres are being set up, he said the Government aims to ramp up capacity in the event that the vaccines come in faster.
This is prevent capacity limits being the reason why Singaporeans can’t be vaccinated more quickly.
Easy to get vaccinated when it’s our turn
Though younger Singaporeans who’re not essential workers may not be able to receive vaccinations yet, the setting up of conveniently located centres means it’ll be easy to get them when it’s our turn.
This is heartening news, as it means we’ll all be able to get vaccinated as soon as we can.
In the meantime, let’s continue to adhere to safe distancing rules and good personal hygiene practices.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at hello@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from Facebook and Facebook.
