Singapore — Sinovac, a Covid-19 vaccine manufactured in China, has been made available in Singapore at private health clinics since Jun, with some Singaporeans enduring long queues to avail of the shots.
But its availability in Singapore has given rise to many questions online, with some netizens saying they’re confused about the vaccine.
Unlike the vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, Sinovac is not authorised by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) and is not considered to be part of the country’s official vaccination programme.
As such, people who receive Sinovac jabs are not covered under the Vaccine Injury Financial Assistance Programme, which provides aid in the event that people have adverse effects from their Covid-19 vaccinations.
Moreover, according to a recent announcement from the Ministry of Health (MOH) those who have received Sinovac shots still need to be subjected to pre-event testing, unlike those who received vaccine shots from Pfizer and Moderna.
These events include meetings, conventions, exhibitions and wedding solemnisations.
The issue at hand is vaccines’ effectiveness against the variants of the Covid-19 infection that are currently going around, particularly the more infectious Delta variant that spread across India.
According to a Jun 25 Reuters report, antibodies produced due to two Chinese vaccines have been shown to be less effective against the Delta variant in comparison to other strains, although they still provide a measure of protection.
This has left some netizens asking as to why Sinovac jabs are allowed at all.
Some commented that they are confused by the news.
Others expressed the opinion that “vaccine politics” are somehow involved.
Some asked whether it is a case of one brand of vaccines being discriminated against.
One netizen clarified that “it’s a matter of efficacy” and compared the protection that different vaccines offer.
/TISG
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People queue overnight, sleep on streets, to book Sinovac vaccine appointment