Singaporeans won’t be able to choose between coronavirus vaccines: Health Minister Gan Kim Yong
- Allocation will be on availability, patients’ medical history and other factors, while there will be financial assistance for people suffering side effects
- Singapore has received first batch of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and is evaluating ones by American drug firm Moderna and China’s Sinovac
Instead, authorities would allocate the vaccines based on what was available, and what was assessed to be suitable for recipients, based on their medical history and other factors, Minister Gan Kim Yong said.
“Anyway, in the immediate term, only the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been approved for use. So there is no choice,” Gan said in parliament, adding that the national regulator was evaluating the safety and efficacy of vaccines by the American drug firm Moderna and China’s Sinovac Biotech.
Besides, he said, the other vaccines had not yet been approved. “My advice is, ‘Don’t wait for them, because we do not know when they will be available. And we also do not know when [and] whether they will be approved,” he said.
This was the first time a parliament sitting had been live-streamed.
