Singapore's Further Plans for COVID-19 Vaccination and Prevention of Surge in Community Cases Given New Virus Variants

1 Mr Seah Kian Peng asked the Minister for Health how is it that a shipment of the Sinovac vaccine arrives in Singapore before the vaccine has been approved for use by HSA.

2 Mr Liang Eng Hwa asked the Minister for Health (a) what is the progress of the vaccine evaluation by HSA for Sinovac; and (b) whether the advance purchase agreement for Sinovac is still valid.

3 Mr Yip Hon Weng asked the Minister for Health in light of the new COVID-19 cluster announced on 14 April 2021 (a) whether a review will be done on the quarantine requirements and controlled itineraries for incoming business travellers; (b) whether there are special measures for workplaces to manage short-term visit pass holders to protect other employees; and (c) whether this incident will result in a review on allowing workers to return to offices, particularly those from overseas.

4 Mr Yip Hon Weng asked the Minister for Health as Singapore continues to see instances of foreign arrivals and visitors infected with COVID-19 (a) what is the Ministry's position on arrivals from countries with high numbers of COVID-19 cases; and (b) how will the Ministry strengthen our upstream measures to prevent COVID-19 spread from imported cases.

5 Mr Saktiandi Supaat asked the Minister for Health from the COVID-19 cases emanating from overseas arrivals in the past six months (a) which are the three countries that accounted for the most number of cases; (b) what recourse can Singapore take with their respective Governments to address this; (c) at what point will Singapore suspend travellers from these countries; and (d) what other enhanced measures can the Ministry take to ensure imported cases of COVID-19 variants do not emerge in Singapore.

6 Mr Alex Yam asked the Minister for Health whether the Ministry will consider a temporary travel ban from countries considered extremely high risk due to the emergence of highly virulent mutations of the COVID-19 virus.

7 Mr Alex Yam asked the Minister for Health (a) whether the Ministry is satisfied with the current rate of COVID-19 vaccination; (b) what more can be done to further encourage vaccination amongst those who have not registered; and (c) whether there are any concerns on the possible efficacy of the vaccines against the new variants of the COVID-19 virus.

8 Mr Liang Eng Hwa asked the Minister for Health (a) whether the Government will more proactively tighten travel and arrivals from countries with sharp emergence of COVID-19 infected cases and more infectious variants; and (b) whether there is a need to step up Stay-Home Notice measures and testing regimes for visitors from these locations.

9 Mr Leong Mun Wai asked the Minister for Health (a) to date, how many Singapore citizens have completed the full COVID-19 vaccination; (b) how many suspected adverse reaction cases have been encountered when administering the vaccination regime compared with the performance of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines in other countries; and (c) whether there are plans to re-vaccinate all Singapore residents after a stipulated period after the full vaccination regime has been completed.

10 Mr Leong Mun Wai asked the Minister for Health (a) when did the Ministry detect the first cases for each of the seven reported COVID-19 variants; and (b) whether the eight local cases of COVID-19 variants are related to the imported cases.

11 Mr Leong Mun Wai asked the Minister for Health (a) how is the quota system for foreign arrivals by country determined; (b) what is the breakdown by profession of the imported COVID-19 cases; (c) why has there been no action taken throughout these months despite the thousands of imported cases that have come into Singapore; and (d) what is the possibility of Indian residents gaining entry via Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal.

12 Ms Foo Mee Har asked the Minister for Health in the light of recent cases where migrant workers who have recovered from COVID-19 are subsequently found to have been re-infected, whether this has any implications for the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccination.

13 Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for Health whether children under 16 years of age can be included in the COVID-19 vaccination programme.

14 Ms Ng Ling Ling asked the Minister for Health in light of the recent infections of individuals who have been vaccinated, what are the key areas that the Ministry will be reviewing for its COVID-19 vaccination programme to ensure the vaccination remains effective for the population.

15 Ms Sylvia Lim asked the Minister for Health (a) to date, how many claims have been made under the Vaccine Injury Financial Assistance Programme; (b) what is the nature of the injuries claimed for; and (c) how many claims have been allowed to date.

16 Ms Jessica Tan Soon Neo asked the Minister for Health with the resurgence of COVID-19 infections and the appearance of the virus variants in various countries, whether our current measures are adequate to protect and keep Singapore and Singaporeans safe.

17 Mr Ang Wei Neng asked the Minister for Health (a) how many people have been tested positive for COVID-19 despite having taken two doses of the vaccine or have had prior COVID-19 infection; (b) how many people in Singapore have taken one and two doses of the vaccine respectively as of April 2021; (c) whether the Government is planning for the third dose of the vaccine; and (d) what is the progress on approving the use of other COVID-19 vaccines in Singapore besides the current two approved vaccines.

18 Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong asked the Minister for Health whether there are current studies by the health authorities to ensure that the currently approved COVID-19 vaccines do not have the rare blood clot risk seen in other vaccines in use in other parts of the world.

19 Mr Pritam Singh asked the Minister for Health (a) what strategies has the Ministry put in place to address COVID-19 vaccination-related misinformation transmitted through online channels and closed-messaging platforms; and (b) whether the Ministry plans to put up information on adverse vaccination cases recorded in Singapore so as to address the inadvertent dissemination of misinformation.

The Minister for Health (Mr Gan Kim Yong): Mr Deputy Speaker, may I have your permission to address Oral Question Nos 1 to 19, as well as Written Question Nos 19 to 23 in today's Order Paper through the Ministerial Statements which will be delivered at tomorrow's Sitting, Sir.

Mr Deputy Speaker: Yes, I give my consent. That leads us on to Question No 20, Mr Darryl David.