Singapore residents can get wider range of Covid-19 vaccines from private clinics, but at their own cost and risk

SINGAPORE is making a wider range of Covid-19 vaccines available through the private sector to enhance flexibility and vaccine coverage of the population.

This is on top of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, which rely on messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) technology and are being used in the national vaccine drive.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) will now also allow Covid-19 vaccines that are approved for emergency use by the World Health Organisation (WHO), it said on Monday. Besides Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, the WHO has also green-lit the AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Sinopharm and Indian Covishield vaccines.

But individuals who want to take these shots will do so at their own cost and risk - in contrast with the official vaccine roll-out, which is free for all long-term residents.

The government will not subsidise vaccines given under the Special Access Route (SAR), and those who get such vaccines are not eligible for the scheme that grants one-time goodwill financial assistance for serious vaccine side effects.

The MOH noted that "there has been interest to access alternate vaccines used in other countries", especially for those with medical conditions, such as pregnancy or life-threatening allergies; these individuals were previously excluded from the two mRNA vaccines.

BT in your inbox

Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.

Sign Up

Sign Up

"However, there have either been no applications for approval of these alternate vaccines in Singapore, or evaluation is still ongoing," it added, referring to the vaccine, which is not yet approved by the Health Sciences Authority.

The authorities will therefore let WHO-approved emergency-use vaccine brands be used by private healthcare providers under the SAR, for as long as the pandemic lasts.

"As and when the WHO approves the Sinovac vaccine into its emergency use list, a licensed healthcare institution can apply to MOH to draw on our existing stock of 200,000 doses to administer to those who wish to have it," Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said at a televised press conference.

This is as Singapore's expert committee on Covid-19 vaccination is now reviewing whether people with a history of anaphylaxis can safely receive mRNA vaccines. Registration will also be open to those who are pregnant from June 4 onwards.

With Singapore already weighing whether vaccinated people could be excused from certain testing or public health requirements, the MOH said that it will review the data to determine whether the same exemptions may apply to those vaccines under the SAR.