China’s Sinovac vaccine arrives in S’pore, awaiting approval for use

Singapore – The first shipment of China’s Sinovac vaccine arrived in Singapore on Tuesday (Feb 23). The vaccine is currently awaiting approval by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) for use in Singapore.

The Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Singapore announced on Tuesday in a Facebook post that the first batch of the Sinovac vaccine purchased by the Government has arrived in Singapore.

“China and Singapore have helped each other to meet the challenge since the Covid-19 epidemic broke out, setting a fine example for cooperation against the virus among countries,” said the embassy.

“The arrival of the vaccine delivered Chinese President Xi Jinping’s announcement to make Chinese vaccine a global public good, implemented the consensus made by the leaders of China and Singapore on strengthening cooperation against the epidemic, and added a new highlight to the bilateral cooperation.”

The post noted that the vaccine’s arrival would contribute to Singapore’s efforts in defeating the virus and “restore normal order of life and economic development.”

The Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Wednesday (Feb 24) that the Sinovac vaccine is not yet allowed to be used in Singapore.

“Sinovac has started submitting initial data, and HSA is currently awaiting Sinovac’s submission of all the necessary information in order to carry out a thorough scientific assessment of the manufacturing process, safety, and efficacy of the vaccine under the Pandemic Special Access Route,” said MOH as quoted by mothership.sg.

To date, there are two vaccines approved for use in Singapore, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.

As of Feb 19, more than 250,000 individuals have received the first dose of the vaccine, while more than 110,000 are reported to have got the second jab, completing the vaccination process.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Feb 10 that the entire eligible population is expected to be vaccinated by the end of the year should vaccine supplies arrive as scheduled./TISG

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