Singapore has approved Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine for pandemic use and expects delivery of the first shots by the end of December, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Monday.

The city-state of 5.7 million expects to have sufficient vaccines for everyone by the third quarter of 2021, Lee added, and will make it free for all Singaporeans and long-term residents.

Lee also said the government has been working to secure COVID-19 vaccines, adding that it was not a “simple exercise” as more than 200 vaccine candidates were under development, and not all would succeed.

Among the efforts, the government held discussions with the drug companies early and identified the promising candidates likely to come to production sooner. It set aside more than USD 1 billion for the purpose and also signed advance purchase agreements for the most promising candidates, including with Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, and Sinovac, Lee said.

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