<p>Singapore became the first Asian country to start vaccinating healthcare workers against Covid-19 with Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Wednesday.</p>.<p>More healthcare institutions will follow in the coming weeks, with public healthcare institutions and private hospitals to progressively arrange for their staff to be vaccinated within their premises, <em>The Straits Times</em> reported.</p>.<p>Elderly persons aged 70 years old and above will get the vaccine shots from February.</p>.<p><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/coronavirus-live-news-covid-19-latest-updates.html" target="_blank"><strong>CORONAVIRUS SPECIAL COVERAGE ONLY ON DH</strong></a></p>.<p>Other Singaporeans and long-term residents who are medically eligible for vaccination will be next in line, according to the report.</p>.<p>The Health Ministry's expert committee had recommended that persons at high risk of being infected, including healthcare workers and front-line workers, should be given priority for vaccination.</p>.<p>The committee's recommendations have been accepted on the vaccination strategy.</p>.<p>Singapore received its first shipment of vaccines from Pfizer and BioNTech on December 21, with subsequent stocks expected to arrive in batches over several months.</p>.<p>Singapore is the first country in Asia to obtain the vaccine, which has been administered in other countries such as Britain, Canada and the US.</p>.<p>The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been authorised by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA), and the expert committee has endorsed its use in Singapore for individuals aged 16 years old and above.</p>.<p>The vaccine has demonstrated a high efficacy of 95 per cent and its safety profile is consistent with high standards set for other registered vaccines used in immunisation against different diseases, the committee noted.</p>.<p><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/science-and-environment/coronavirus-vaccine-live-updates-covaxin-clinical-trials-human-trials-coronavirus-vaccine%20tracker-india-russia-us-china-oxford-moderna-bharat-biotech-866148.html" target="_blank"><strong>Coronavirus vaccine news live updates on DH</strong></a></p>.<p>While vaccination is not a silver bullet which can end the pandemic immediately, it is a key enabler to getting Singapore back to a safer state of affairs, the Ministry of Health had said last Sunday.</p>.<p>It will complement the likes of safe management measures, testing and contact tracing, to help Singapore mitigate the spread of the virus and keep community transmission low.</p>.<p>The ministry noted that comprehensive vaccination coverage in the population will indirectly protect those who cannot be inoculated due to medical reasons.</p>.<p>In the longer term, wider vaccination among the community will also enable Singapore to reopen further as a society and as an economy, and expedite its recovery from the pandemic.</p>.<p>Vaccination will be offered on a free and voluntary basis for all Singaporeans and long-term residents, who are likely to be able to get vaccinated by end-2021 if there are no unforeseen disruptions to vaccine shipments.</p>.<p>In all, 58,400 people have recovered from coronavirus, while 29 have died due to complications related to Covid-19 this year. </p>
<p>Singapore became the first Asian country to start vaccinating healthcare workers against Covid-19 with Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Wednesday.</p>.<p>More healthcare institutions will follow in the coming weeks, with public healthcare institutions and private hospitals to progressively arrange for their staff to be vaccinated within their premises, <em>The Straits Times</em> reported.</p>.<p>Elderly persons aged 70 years old and above will get the vaccine shots from February.</p>.<p><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/coronavirus-live-news-covid-19-latest-updates.html" target="_blank"><strong>CORONAVIRUS SPECIAL COVERAGE ONLY ON DH</strong></a></p>.<p>Other Singaporeans and long-term residents who are medically eligible for vaccination will be next in line, according to the report.</p>.<p>The Health Ministry's expert committee had recommended that persons at high risk of being infected, including healthcare workers and front-line workers, should be given priority for vaccination.</p>.<p>The committee's recommendations have been accepted on the vaccination strategy.</p>.<p>Singapore received its first shipment of vaccines from Pfizer and BioNTech on December 21, with subsequent stocks expected to arrive in batches over several months.</p>.<p>Singapore is the first country in Asia to obtain the vaccine, which has been administered in other countries such as Britain, Canada and the US.</p>.<p>The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been authorised by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA), and the expert committee has endorsed its use in Singapore for individuals aged 16 years old and above.</p>.<p>The vaccine has demonstrated a high efficacy of 95 per cent and its safety profile is consistent with high standards set for other registered vaccines used in immunisation against different diseases, the committee noted.</p>.<p><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/science-and-environment/coronavirus-vaccine-live-updates-covaxin-clinical-trials-human-trials-coronavirus-vaccine%20tracker-india-russia-us-china-oxford-moderna-bharat-biotech-866148.html" target="_blank"><strong>Coronavirus vaccine news live updates on DH</strong></a></p>.<p>While vaccination is not a silver bullet which can end the pandemic immediately, it is a key enabler to getting Singapore back to a safer state of affairs, the Ministry of Health had said last Sunday.</p>.<p>It will complement the likes of safe management measures, testing and contact tracing, to help Singapore mitigate the spread of the virus and keep community transmission low.</p>.<p>The ministry noted that comprehensive vaccination coverage in the population will indirectly protect those who cannot be inoculated due to medical reasons.</p>.<p>In the longer term, wider vaccination among the community will also enable Singapore to reopen further as a society and as an economy, and expedite its recovery from the pandemic.</p>.<p>Vaccination will be offered on a free and voluntary basis for all Singaporeans and long-term residents, who are likely to be able to get vaccinated by end-2021 if there are no unforeseen disruptions to vaccine shipments.</p>.<p>In all, 58,400 people have recovered from coronavirus, while 29 have died due to complications related to Covid-19 this year. </p>