Chinese Sinopharm Covid-19 Vaccine May Be Available In Singapore Soon, Health News & Top Stories

SINGAPORE – China’s Sinopharm vaccine may soon be available in Singapore, with several private health groups already taking steps to secure doses of the vaccine.

This will likely see it become the fourth Covid-19 vaccine available here, as the country increases vaccination rates nationwide in order to relax restrictions on social gatherings and bring the economy back to normal.

IHH Healthcare Singapore told the Straits Times that the Health Sciences Authority authorized the import of the Sinopharm vaccine under the special access route.

“This will give Singaporeans access to another (…) vaccine option,” said Dr Noel Yeo, group director of operations.

“Details are still being worked out at this time. We will make an official announcement when more information becomes available.”

Separately, Raffles Medical Group posted a Facebook post asking people to show interest in the Chinese vaccine, which uses an inactivated virus to gain protection against Covid-19.

A spokesperson for the group said it had also received approval from the HSA and planned to start giving the first doses in August.

The special access road framework allows private health care groups to import Covid-19 vaccines that have been placed on the World Health Organization (WHO) emergency use list. These include the Chinese vaccines Sinovac and Sinopharm, as well as those manufactured by Johnson & Johnson and Oxford-AstraZeneca.

The authorities have also signed advance purchase agreements with American biotechnology company Novavax to secure its protein-based Covid-19 vaccine, with supplies arriving before the end of the year. If approved, it will be part of the national immunization program.

Unlike vaccines administered under the Special Pandemic Access Route – such as Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines under the National Immunization Program – Special Access Route vaccines are not subsidized by the government.

They are also not covered by the Vaccine Victim Financial Assistance Program, which supports people who suffer from side effects from their Covid-19 injections.

To date, Singapore has vaccinated 4.3 million people as part of the national immunization program. About three quarters have completed the full vaccination schedule.

As of Monday, July 26, private health groups also administered 89,047 doses of the Sinovac vaccine.

Sinopharm vaccine is given in two doses given three to four weeks apart. It is approved for use in people 18 years of age and older.

According to the WHO, a large multi-country phase three trial showed the vaccine to be 79% effective against symptomatic disease two weeks after the second dose. It has also been reported to be 79 percent effective against hospitalization.