Bring Forward Arrival of COVID-19 Vaccine Supplies and Plans to Accelerate Interim-use Authorisation Process under Pandemic Special Access Route for Other Promising Vaccine Candidates

Ms Joan Pereira asked the Minister for Health (a) whether the arrival of COVID-19 vaccine supplies can be brought forward; and (b) whether there are plans to accelerate the interim-use authorisation process under Pandemic Special Access Route (PSAR) for other promising vaccine candidates such as the single-dose vaccine co-developed by Arcturus and Duke-NUS.

Mr Ong Ye Kung: As announced in MOH's press release on 24 June 2021, we recently brought forward supplies and accelerated our vaccination programme. We are working with suppliers of other promising vaccine candidates, such as Novavax, to submit applications under the Pandemic Special Access Route (PSAR). This will provide more options for individuals. It is important to note that all vaccines can have adverse effects. We encourage eligible individuals to receive the current mRNA vaccines, which have well-documented efficacy and effects, and have proven to be safe and effective.