Leisure travel may be out of reach for humans, but vaccines are flying to countries all over the globe at the moment.
Fortunately for us, two Covid-19 vaccines with impressive efficacy have been shipped to Singapore, waiting to enter the bodies of residents.
The first, produced by Pfizer-BioNTech, has already been in use for several months.
Soon, Moderna’s vaccine will be administered to residents in Singapore.
And by soon, I mean today.
Authorities Will Start Administering Moderna’s Covid-19 Vaccine Today (17 March)
The authorities will begin administering Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine at four new vaccination centres here from today (17 March), the Ministry of Health (MOH) announced.
The four centres are:
- Hong Kah North Community Club
- Marsiling Community Club
- Punggol 21 Community Club
- Radin Mas Community Club
More vaccination centres will administer the Moderna vaccine once more supplies of it arrive in the country.
Meanwhile, other vaccination centres here, as well as polyclinics and selected Public Health Preparedness Clinics (PHPCs), will continue to offer the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
As MOH reiterated, each vaccination centre will stock and administer only one type of vaccine.
“Individuals must select the same vaccination centre for both their first and second appointments, when booking via the national appointment system”, the ministry said.
Residents are encouraged to book their appointments at the vaccination centres, which have a higher capacity than the polyclinics.
Only 1% Less Effective Than Pfizer’s Vaccine
So, what are the major differences between Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccines?
Well, both are extremely effective at preventing coronavirus contraction: Moderna has an efficacy rate of 94% and Pfizer-BioNTech’s is 95%.
Both vaccines require two doses, but while Pfizer-BioNTech’s doses are administered 21 days apart, Moderna’s doses are given 28 days apart; nearly a month.
One benefit of using Moderna’s vaccine is that it is much easier to store.
See, Pfizer’s vaccine must be shipped and stored at -70 °C, and can only be stored for up to five days at standard refrigerator temperatures.
Conversely, Moderna’s vaccine requires normal fridge temperatures of 2 to 8 °C for 30 days and can be stored for up to 6 months at -20 °C.
How Moderna’s Vaccine Works
Moderna’s vaccine, just like Pfizer’s, utilises a new technology known as messenger RNA (mRNA), which was previously unproven.
It provokes cells into making virus proteins that the immune system sees as a threat and attacks it.
And once you’ve developed an immunity, your body will instantly recognise the Covid-19 virus and attack it if it enters your system.
Side effects for Moderna’s vaccine were also similar to that of Pfizer’s vaccine. They included:
- pain or swelling at the site of infection
- fatigue
- headache
- muscle ache
- fever
- chills
- vomiting
- joint pain
As of 15 March, around 243,000 residents here have already completed their vaccination programmes.
Another 549,000 have received their first dose of the vaccine.
Featured Image: rafapress / Shutterstock.com
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