COVID-19: Moderna vaccine approved for use in Singapore

The health sciences authority

has approved the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine

for use in Singapore.

the first shipment is expected to arrive

next month

and will be progressively rolled out

to those, aged 18 and above,

Nisha Rahim with more:

[Nisha Rahim] it's been over a month

since Singapore received it's first

Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine.

shortly after, the country kick-started

it's vaccination programme.

on Wednesday, Singapore approved the use

of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine.

The first shipment is expected to arrive

some time next month.

The vaccine is the second

to be authorised by the

Health Sciences authority

and endorsed by the expert committy

on Covid-19 vaccination.

It has a high efficacy of 94%.

This efficacy was based on a phase 3

clinical trial, conducted with over 30,000

participants, aged 18-95.

Moderna's vaccination regime

requires 2 doses to be administered,

28 days apart.

Unlike the Pfizer vaccine,

which is for individuals

aged 16 and above,

Moderna is approved for people aged 18

and above.

Those who shouldn't take the vaccine

include pregnant women,

severely immunocompromised persons,

and persons with history of

severe allergies.

According to 1 expert,

the Moderna vaccine is similar

to Pfizer-BioNTech, in terms of

profile and efficacy.

[Deputy Director] i don't think there's any

major difference between the 2

if you look at the clinical trial data,

the efficacy is about the same.

Both are around 95%.

The side effect profile is about

the same.

So the Moderna uses a slightly higher

dose than Pfizer:

100mcg compared to 30mcg

[Nisha Rahim] Though the storage conditions

are different, Pfizer vaccines will need

to be stored at -70°C,

compared to Moderna's -20°C.

That won't be an issue

as Singapore has the storage capacity

for both.

The consideration now is whether

there's enough ready supply.

[Deputy Director] The bigger consideration is

which vaccine is going to be available

to Singapore.

There will be a global shortage

in production

because the demand right now

far out-strips the supply.

So i think for Singapore's population,

the more important consideration

is 'do these vaccines work?'

the answer is 'yes'

'are they safe?', i think the answer is

'yes'

There is practically no real difference

between these vaccines,

so it's a question of

which one can Singapore get its

hand on?

[Nisha Rahim] As of Tuesday,

more than 175,000 individuals

in Singapore have received the

first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

About 6000 of them have also

received the 2nd dose.