Healthcare workers of National Centre for Infectious Diseases first to get Covid-19 vaccine

Singapore

SINGAPORE'S Covid-19 vaccination exercise kicks off on Wednesday, Dec 30 with healthcare workers at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID).

The vaccinations will be rolled out to more healthcare institutions in the subsequent weeks, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Sunday in its announcement that the government has accepted in full the recommendations of the Expert Committee on Covid-19 Vaccination.

MOH aims to begin vaccinating the elderly, starting with those aged 70 years and above, from February 2021.

Those in this age group have "more medical co-morbidities, and tend to have worse health outcomes than those aged 60 to 69 years if infected with Covid-19", it noted. Protecting older persons minimises Covid-19 related mortality and morbidity, and ensures that the healthcare system here will continue to have the capacity to care for the overall health of all Singaporeans.

"Thereafter we will vaccinate other Singaporeans and long-term residents who are medically eligible for vaccination. More details will be shared in due course," MOH said.

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The expert committee has also recommended that around 5 per cent of available vaccine stocks at any given point in time be set aside for specific groups who are of critical importance to the republic's functioning.

Examples could include personnel involved in ensuring that Singapore's water and utilities, and other nationally essential services are not disrupted. The detailed identification of these groups will be decided by the government as this is beyond the remit of the expert committee.

Setting aside 5 per cent of vaccine stocks for those vital to Singapore's functioning would be "separate from the prioritisation of population subgroups by public health considerations, to ensure that Singapore would be able to continue to function effectively amid a local outbreak situation".

MOH said: "Vaccination is not a silver bullet that can end the pandemic immediately, but it is a key enabler to getting us back to a safer state of affairs."

Th ministry noted that vaccination will complement other existing key enablers such as safe management measures, testing and contact tracing, which will continue to be necessary in helping to mitigate any spread and to keep community transmission low.

"We seek the cooperation of all Singaporeans to continue to remain vigilant and disciplined in our fight against Covid-19, by observing safe distancing and safe management measures, and wearing a mask when out of the home. If we all work together, we can look forward to a safer and healthier 2021."

The two population subgroups the expert committee headed by Associate Professor Benjamin Ong have recommended for priority to maximising the beneficial impact of the vaccination programme are:

Where vaccine supply is limited, the expert committee recommends starting vaccinations of persons aged 70 years and above, followed by persons aged 60 to 69 years.

The committee, which was convened in October, has assessed that the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine is suitable for use in persons aged 16 years and above in Singapore for the prevention of Covid-19.

The committee also recommends to achieve as high a level of population coverage for Covid-19 vaccination as possible as this will "markedly reduce the overall proportion of the population that is susceptible to the disease and likelihood of uncontrolled chains of transmission".

A high vaccination coverage in the population also indirectly protects others who may not be suitable for vaccination yet, it added. When vaccines become more widely available, everyone residing in Singapore who is medically eligible for vaccination should be vaccinated, although vaccination should remain voluntary, the expert committee said.

Benjamin Ong, who chairs the expert committee, said: "While Singapore currently has a low rate of local transmission of Covid-19, we remain vulnerable to the threat of a surge in cases. As such, it is important that we achieve as comprehensive a coverage of Covid-19 vaccination as possible across the entire population."

Assoc Prof Ong added: "We strongly encourage all persons who are medically eligible to be vaccinated when the vaccine is made available to them."

The Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine had earlier received authorisation by the Health Sciences Authority under the Pandemic Special Access Route, and the Expert Committee had also reviewed and endorsed its use in Singapore in individuals aged 16 years and above.

Singapore received the first shipment of vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech on Dec 21 2020, and subsequent Covid-19 vaccine stocks are expected to arrive in Singapore in batches over several months. Vaccination will therefore take place in a progressive manner, with priority given to the two population subgroups.

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