Singapore will begin administering COVID-19 vaccines to healthcare workers progressively from December 30, Ministry of Health (MOH) announced.
The vaccination exercise will start with healthcare workers at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID). It will be rolled out to more healthcare institutions in the subsequent weeks.
Staff at public healthcare institutions and private healthcare providers will be vaccinated within their respective premises, MOH added.
Singapore received the first shipment of vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech on December 21, with subsequent COVID-19 vaccine stocks expected to arrive in batches over several months.
If there are no unforeseen disruptions to vaccine shipments, all Singapore citizens and long-term residents will be able to get vaccinated by end-2021 for free.
MOH said it will be prioritising persons at high risk of being infected by COVID-19 – such as healthcare workers and workers at the frontline of COVID-19 response – as well as those who are most vulnerable to severe disease and complications if they fall ill with COVID-19, including the elderly and persons with medical conditions.
"We aim to begin vaccinating the elderly, starting with those aged 70 years and above, from February 2021. Thereafter we will vaccinate other Singaporeans and long-term residents who are medically eligible for vaccination," MOH added.
More details will be shared in due course.