MOH Approves China-Made Sinovac COVID-19 Vaccine Only for Private Healthcare Sector

As my grandfather used to say, the more vaccines we have, the better. 

He always used to say this out of the blue while we playing chess, which didn’t make sense to 9-year-old me, but his saying certainly rings true today.

A few days ago, PM Lee said that nearly 40% of residents in Singapore have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

The government’s next target is to get two-thirds of residents vaccinated with at least the first dose by early July.

With such a target in mind, the more vaccines we have, the better.

And now, it seems that a third COVID-19 vaccine has been approved for use here, but with a caveat.

MOH Approves China-Made Sinovac COVID-19 Vaccine Only for Private Healthcare Sector

Sinovac’s COVID-19 vaccine has been approved for use in Singapore, but only through the private healthcare sector.

The vaccine will be allowed under the Special Access Route (SAR), the Ministry of Health (MOH) said yesterday (2 June).

MOH’s approval comes after the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced on Tuesday that it had approved the China-made vaccine for emergency use.

There is one key difference with how Sinovac’s vaccine will be used in Singapore, however.

Unlike Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccine, Sinovac’s shot is not part of the national programme. This means that those who choose this vaccine will not be eligible for the Vaccine Injury Financial Assistance Programme (Vifap) should they develop any adverse reactions.

The health ministry said it is working out details on pricing, informed consent process, and safety of the patients who choose Sinovac’s shot.

Uses More Traditional Vaccine

Compared to Pfizer-BioNTech’s and Moderna’s vaccines – the only two vaccines approved for use in the public sector here – Sinovac’s vaccine uses a more traditional inactivated vaccine.

It works by using killed viral particles to expose the body’s immune system to the virus without triggering a serious disease response. This will then ‘teach’ the body how to fight the virus the next time it encounters it.

This type of vaccine has been used to inoculate people against polio.

Conversely, Moderna and Pfizer’s vaccines tapped on a new technology called mRNA to make their vaccines.

This involves injecting part of the coronavirus’ genetic code into the body, triggering the body to produce viral proteins but not the whole virus. This will train the immune system to attack the virus.

An advantage of using Sinovac’s vaccine is that it can be stored in a standard refrigerator at 2-8°C.

On the other hand, Moderna’s vaccine needs to be stored at -20°C and Pfizer-BioNTech‘s vaccine at -70°C.

MOH added that the Expert Committee on COVID-19 vaccination is also reviewing current restrictions to allow people with a known history of anaphylaxis to be inoculated with Moderna and Pfizer’s vaccine.

In February, the authorities said that 4 out of 155,000 vaccine recipients had severe allergic reactions, all of whom had recovered.

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