Singapore’s first Chinese COVID-19 vaccines arrive ahead of approval

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Singapore received its first batch of COVID-19 vaccine made by Chinese company Sinovac Biotech on Tuesday, its health ministry said, although the vaccine is still pending approval for use in the city -State.

Sinovac has started submitting initial data but the Health Sciences Authority is currently awaiting all the information needed to conduct a thorough assessment, the ministry said in a statement Wednesday evening.

Singapore is the only wealthy country to consider the use of the Sinovac vaccine, which has an efficacy rate of around 50% to 90% in studies.

The city-state has rolled out its COVID-19 vaccination program over the past two months. He approved snapshots from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.

The government has previously declined to give specific details on agreements with vaccine manufacturers.

As an island nation heavily reliant on travel and trade, the Singapore government is keen to boost its economy with the help of the vaccine. Singapore aims to immunize its entire population of nearly six million people by the end of 2021.

Singapore has reported very few new local coronavirus cases in recent months.

Since the start of the epidemic, it has recorded a total of nearly 60,000 infections, most of which occurred in dormitories crowded with foreign workers. Only 29 people have died from the disease in Singapore, according to its health ministry.

China, Brazil, Indonesia and Thailand are among the countries that have approved the Sinovac vaccine.