SINGAPORE, 30 JUNE: Residents in Singapore who choose the Sinovac Biotech Ltd vaccine will not receive the same benefits as those who choose government-approved messenger RNA vaccines from Pfizer Inc and Moderna Inc, highlighting the difficulties faced by people who receive less-effective vaccination as countries prepare to reopen safely. Doctors must inform patients receiving vaccines under the city-special state’s access route – which Sinovac has qualified for – that they “may not be treated in the same way as those immunized under our national program,” according to a statement released by the Ministry of Health on Wednesday.
These people will still have to go through pre-event testing, according to the statement, which refers to the measures that those who received the Pfizer or Moderna shots are excluded from.
The move makes it more likely that persons who have had Sinovac shots will be ineligible for additional softening measures that the Singapore government has promised, such as the ability to travel without having to serve a 14-day quarantine upon crossing the border. Governments are scrambling to backup their use of non-mRNA vaccinations like those from Chinese producers and AstraZeneca Plc, as evidence mounts that mRNA vaccines are not only more effective at reducing serious disease and death, but also at limiting transmission.
While those immunizations can prevent acute illness or death, they can’t stop the disease from spreading. The rapid spread of new mutations such as the delta variant is also raising concerns that only the most powerful mRNA injections can provide complete protection. Bahrain has begun providing a Pfizer vaccine as a booster shot to persons who have been properly immunized with Sinopharm’s vaccine.
Singapore permitted two dozen private clinics to use its existing stock of Sinovac doses in mid-June, despite the vaccine’s lack of regulatory approval. Long queues of people waited in line to get it, according to local media, though the government has not disclosed figures on how many shots were given out. According to the World Health Organization, the vaccine is created using the usual approach of injecting an inactivated version of the virus to trigger immune response and can be given to immunocompromised persons./n
