By Elishya Perera
SINGAPORE (CWBN)_ Moderna announced today (Dec 15) that it has concluded an agreement with the Ministry of Health (MOH) of Singapore, to supply its COVID-19 vaccine.
The American biotechnology company said the agreement would support the country’s ongoing efforts to secure access to “safe and effective” COVID-19 vaccines.
Data from Phase 3 of the trial which involved 30, 000 volunteers in the United States proved the company’s vaccine, mRNA-1273, to be 94.1 per cent effective against COVID-19 and 100 per cent effective in preventing severe infections.
According to the company, the common side effects were headache and body aches, fatigue, injection site redness and pain, while no serious safety concerns were reported.
Meanwhile, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is set to publish its analysis of Moderna’s vaccine on Thursday and if a positive recommendation is given by the agency’s advisers, mRNA-1273 may receive approval shortly thereafter.
Addressing the nation yesterday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced that the Health Sciences Authority of Singapore has approved the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for pandemic use, and the first shipment of the vaccines is expected by the end of this month.
“[…] the country will have enough vaccines for everyone by the third quarter of next year if all goes according to plan,” he added.
The Prime Minister said that when administering the first batch of vaccines, priority will be given to “those at greatest risk”, which includes frontline and healthcare workers, and the elderly and vulnerable.
The government has not only signed advance purchase agreements for the most promising vaccines, but has also facilitated clinical trials and drug development in Singapore, Lee noted.
