SINGAPORE, Dec 27 — Singapore will begin its Covid-19 vaccination exercise with healthcare workers at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) on Dec 30, according to the republic’s Ministry of Health (MOH) today.

In a statement here, the ministry said the vaccination exercise will roll out to more healthcare institutions in the subsequent weeks.

Singapore received the first shipment of vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech on Dec 21 and expected the subsequent Covid-19 vaccine stocks to arrive in batches over several months.

MOH said it aimed to begin vaccinating the elderly, starting with those aged 70 and above, from February 2021.

"Thereafter we will vaccinate other Singaporeans and long-term residents who are medically eligible for vaccination,” it said.

MOH said that the Singapore government today accepted in full the recommendations on vaccination strategy submitted by the Expert Committee on Covid-19 Vaccination on Dec 24.

One of the recommendations is to vaccinate all persons domiciled in Singapore including citizens, permanent residents and long-term pass holders who are medically eligible.

To ensure the accessibility of the vaccine and to enable the republic to achieve a higher rate of vaccination for the population, the vaccination will be free, said the ministry.

The ministry noted that the Expert Committee had endorsed the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for use in Singapore on individuals aged 16 years and above.

The committee also suggested that the vaccination should remain voluntary. — Bernama