The first COVID-19 vaccine shipment arrived in Singapore from Brussels on a Singapore Airlines (SIA) cargo plane on Monday, December 21, evening.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine – manufactured in Belgium – was the first one to be approved for use in Singapore. It is also the first COVID-19 vaccine to arrive in Asia, and is already in use in Britain, Canada and US.
Other vaccines are expected to arrive in Singapore in the coming months.
Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung said in a Facebook post, "From flight to delivery, a lot of preparation has gone into making this as smooth as possible, including a trial flight by SIA."
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in a televised speech that the first vaccines will arrive towards the end of December.
The Singapore government is making the COVID-19 vaccines free for all Singapore citizens and long-term residents, and PM Lee has encouraged all to get themselves vaccinated. "The more of us are vaccinated, the harder it will be for the virus to spread, and the safer we will all be as a society."
In a post on Monday night, PM Lee said Multi-Ministry Taskforce will announce details of the rollout in due course. "We are prioritising our healthcare workers and the elderly. Vaccination will be voluntary, but I encourage Singaporeans to take the vaccine."