With Singapore’s vaccination programme underway, many of us are probably worried about the quality of vaccines coming into the country. While the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines have been approved, China’s Sinovac is still under review.
The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) has started to review data on the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine and has asked the biopharmaceutical company for more data.
The authority is currently waiting for them to submit their data.
The additional data is “required to assess if it can meet the required standards for quality, safety and efficacy for interim authorisation under the Pandemic Special Access Route,” said HSA.
The Pandemic Special Access Route allows early access to vital novel vaccines, medicines, and medical devices during a pandemic. Companies can only apply to HSA using this route for designated health products that the Government of Singapore requires during a pandemic.
The Sinovac vaccine has been approved for general use in China and is already in use in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.
The Sinovac vaccine is different from the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines as it is a more traditional inactivated vaccine. It contains killed virus particles, just like vaccines for diseases such as polio.
We have already received our first shipment of the Sinovac vaccine on 23 February, but, as mentioned, HSA has not authorised its use yet.
Talks of Other Vaccines
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has made it clear that Singapore will “use vaccines from any source,” as “vaccines do not carry nationality”.
Speaking to BBC’s Talking Asia Business programme, he said that the Chinese-made vaccine will be used in Singapore if it is proven to be safe and effective. He also noted that China has very capable scientists, biomedical researchers and vaccine researcher.
HSA has also expressed that talks with various companies are underway, including AstraZeneca, on their submission plans for COVID-19 vaccines.
“All vaccines are rigorously evaluated by HSA on their quality, safety and efficacy before they are approved for use in Singapore,” said the authority.
In other vaccine-related news, AstraZeneca and the World Health Organisation (WHO) assert that there is no evidence of health issues being caused by their vaccine.
This comes after more than a dozen countries have suspended the use of the British-Swedish vaccine after cases of blood clotting in Europe.
The European Medicines Agency has also carried out an investigation and has concluded that the benefits outweigh the risks.
Several countries have resumed their use of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Feature Image: rafapress / Shutterstock.com
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