SINGAPORE, July 26 — Concessions on safe management measures will be given to people who have received the Sinovac vaccine, or any other vaccines, if the evidence justifies it, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung in Parliament today.
In his ministerial statement on the Government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said that the data on the efficacy of the Sinovac vaccine against the Delta variant is “still building up”.
“The authorities and the expert committee on Covid-19 vaccinations are still studying the data,” he said.
“When the evidence justifies it, we will certainly want to extend the concessions to individuals who have received the Sinovac or other vaccines which may qualify.”
Sinovac, a Beijing-based biopharmaceutical firm, recently submitted the required safety data for their application for the Pandemic Special Access Route approval, Mr Ong said.
At the moment, Sinovac is not recognised as an approved vaccine under the voluntary national vaccination exercise but some clinics have been selected to offer the vaccine under a special access route to citizens, permanent residents and long-term pass holders who opt for it.
So far, about 72,000 people have received at least one dose of the non-mRNA (messenger ribonucleic acid) vaccine, out of which 17,000 have received two doses, Ong said.
Giving an update on the national vaccination programme, Ong said that as of July 25, 54 per cent of the population had received two doses of vaccines.
By National Day on Aug 9, almost 70 per cent will have received both doses, and by early September, around 80 per cent should be fully inoculated.
“This means Singapore will have one of the highest vaccination rates in the world. It puts us in a strong position to transit to a Covid-resilient society, where we can live with it as an endemic disease.”
Ong again urged more seniors to be vaccinated.
Right now, 77 per cent of seniors aged 70 and above have received one dose of a mRNA vaccine and will be fully vaccinated in the coming weeks, he said. — TODAY
