Allowing choice of COVID-19 vaccines an unnecessary complication: Gan
SINGAPORE — Giving people a choice of vaccines would "unnecessarily complicate" Singapore's vaccination programme, said Health Minister Gan Kim Yong in Parliament on Monday (4 January).
“Allowing individuals to have choice of vaccines will unnecessarily complicate the already complex vaccination programme,” he said, in response to a question raised by Sengkang GRC MP Louis Chua.
“Anyway, in the immediate term, only the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been approved for use. So there is no choice,” added Gan.
The allocation of vaccines would largely be based on medical indications of the different vaccines, the suitability of the vaccine for the different population subgroups, and the availability of the vaccines, said Gan. Any COVID-19 vaccine approved for use here would also have to meet stringent safety and efficacy requirements.
Earlier in his speech, Gan said that following the arrival of the first batch of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in December, more deliveries would be expected in the coming months – including supplies of the Moderna and Sinovac vaccines, both of which are currently being reviewed.
Singapore began rolling out its vaccinations for local healthcare workers on 30 December and plans to have enough vaccines for the entire population by the third quarter of this year. Vaccinations are currently free for all citizens, permanent residents and long-term residents and remain voluntary for all.
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