‘Last June, Singapore sealed its first deal to buy Covid-19 vaccines - before any of the more than 200 vaccine candidates had even started their phase three clinical trials. It decided not to wait for the trials, and even paid a premium on the price, in order to secure some early stock of vaccines for people here at high risk, such as healthcare workers and the elderly. That was for the Moderna mRNA vaccine, which has yet to be approved for use here.
‘Singapore signed two more purchase agreements in August - with Sinovac which produces a traditional vaccine, and Pfizer-BioNTech which also uses mRNA. These purchases should provide sufficient vaccines for the entire adult population. But Singapore is buying more. Dr Benjamin Seet, who chaired the panel that picked the vaccines for Singapore, said several late-stage discussions are still ongoing with a handful of other companies - as part of a contingency plan should there be disruptions in the supply of purchased vaccines, delays in the delivery, or even the need for further booster shots.’
Read here (Straits Times, Feb 1, 2021)
