Published 10:52 IST, December 22nd 2020
COVID-19: Singapore becomes first Asian country to get Pfizer vaccine shipment
PM Lee had approved budget of nearly 1 billion Singapore dollars ($750 million) to secure COVID-19 vaccines in Asia by placing “multiple bets” to sign deals.
On December 21, Singapore became the first Asian country to receive a shipment of the COVID-19 Pfizer and BioNtech vaccines. Prime Minister Leeh Sien Loong took to his official Twitter handle to inform that the first batch of the vaccine doses arrived in the country late Monday. Singapore plans to inoculate its entire 5.7 million population by the third quarter of 2021. PM Lee had approved the budget of nearly 1 billion Singapore dollars ($750 million) to secure the vaccines in Asia by placing “multiple bets” to sign advance agreements, according to sources of AP. The vials arrive as Singapore registered one locally transmitted case and 18 imported cases of the novel coronavirus, pushing the total tally to 19, as per the ministry of health’s data on the website.
"Delighted to see the first shipment of vaccines arrive in Singapore," Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong wrote on Facebook, adding that 2020 has been a “long and arduous” year. “I hope that this news will give Singaporeans cheer this festive season and reason to be optimistic for 2021.” The country’s PM said. Earlier this month, Singapore approved the emergency use of the Pfizer vaccines as it signed contracts to purchase Pfizer, Moderna Inc., and China’s Sinovac.
“Now that vaccines are becoming available, we can see light at the end of the tunnel,” AP quoted Lee as saying.
“The more of us are vaccinated, the harder it will be for the virus to spread, and the safer we will all be as a society,” he said, adding that the mass inoculation will provide immunity against the virus and bolster Singapore’s economy recovery.
Taken to SATS’ cold-chain facility
Lee told a press conference that the vaccines will be free of cost and first the high-risk priority groups such as the elderly, frontline healthcare workers, and long-term residents will be vaccinated first. He added that the older Cabinet ministers will get inoculated in early demonstrations to encourage the larger population to administer the shots. The shipment was transported on an SQ7979 airplane, that had travelled via Singapore Airlines (SIA) 747-400 freighter, departed on December 21 from Brussels. The batch landed at Singapore Changi Airport at 7.36 pm on Monday and was received by Singapore’s Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung who took the vaccines to SATS’ cold-chain facility for storage, according to Singapore’s CNA.
Updated 10:51 IST, December 22nd 2020