Progress on Development and Clinical Trial of COVID-19 Vaccine and Plans for Mass Vaccination for Singaporeans
Ministry of HealthSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns MP Gan Thiam Poh’s inquiry into mass vaccination plans, financing, and the progress of vaccine development and local clinical trials. Minister for Health Gan Kim Yong stated that the vaccination strategy prioritizes vulnerable individuals and those with higher exposure risk before expanding coverage progressively to the rest of the population. He added that the financing framework will consider the overall strategy and vaccine costs, with plans to adapt as more candidate data becomes available. Regarding development, Duke-NUS Medical School and Arcturus Therapeutics have recruited 70 participants for Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials of an mRNA vaccine. Furthermore, the government is building vaccine manufacturing capacity to provide fill-and-finish services and support production once vaccines are ready for use.
Transcript
4 Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked the Minister for Health (a) how does the Government intend to vaccinate Singaporeans once the COVID-19 vaccine is available; (b) whether the Government will consider providing free vaccination for all Singaporeans; (c) what is the progress on the joint development with all established overseas vaccine producers and makers; (d) whether the Government is prepared to have the vaccine produced in Singapore; and (e) whether Singaporeans have participated in the clinical trial of the vaccines in development and, if so, what is the progress so far.
Mr Gan Kim Yong: The Government is developing a vaccination strategy based on several factors, including the suitability of different vaccines for different population subgroups and the quantity of vaccines available at any point in time. Our approach aims to protect individuals who are more vulnerable or at higher risk from the disease, as well as those who may be more likely to be exposed to infection, while progressively expanding the coverage of vaccination to the rest of our population. The financing framework for the vaccinations would take into consideration the overall vaccination strategy and the cost of the vaccines. We will adapt our strategy accordingly as more information from the various vaccine candidates become available.
We are also involved in different vaccine development initiatives in Singapore. Singapore's Duke-NUS Medical School is collaborating with a United States biotechnology company, Arcturus Therapeutics, to develop an mRNA vaccine. The combined Phase 1 and 2 human clinical trial for this vaccine candidate started in early August at the SingHealth Investigational Medicine Unit (IMU) and about 70 participants have since been recruited. The study is expected to be completed later in the year. Separately, we are also building up vaccine manufacturing capacity, which can provide fill-and-finish contract manufacturing services to vaccine developers and ramp up production of vaccines when they are available.