Singapore has received its first shipment of Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines, making it the first country in Asia to take the vaccine developed by the duo as the country plans to inoculate its 5.7 million people by the third quarter of 2021. The first batch of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine landed in Singapore on Monday, a news agency reported.
Singapore is one of the first very few countries to approve and get delivered the COVID-19 vaccines. Other countries that have approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine are Britain, the United States, Canada, Switzerland, Bahrain and Qatar. Britain, the US and Canada are already carrying out the Covid 19 vaccination drive. Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung received the vaccines and are immediately taken to a cold-chain facility for storage and ground transportation. The minister assured that the city-state has the capabilities to make sure the process is secure.
Minister said, Singapore wants to become a COVID-19 vaccine distribution hub for the region. On December 14, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced that Singapore authorities had approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for pandemic use and that the first shipment would arrive by the December end. PM says he is delighted over the first shipment and described it as a "welcome 'present' that we've all been looking forward to". Vaccinations will be free for all Singaporeans and Permanent residents currently in Singapore.
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