SINGAPORE - The urgency in tackling the Covid-19 pandemic has seen a quickened process in developing, and approving, a vaccine, but experts say multiple steps have been taken to ensure that any vaccine rolled out in Singapore is safe.
The vaccine by Pfizer-BioNTech was granted authorisation for use here by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) under the pandemic special access route. It is the only one the HSA has approved so far, although others are being studied.
But even during these unprecedented times, steps have been taken to ensure the safety of vaccines that will be used here, said two experts during a press conference on Monday. Associate Professor Tan Say Beng and Professor Benjamin Seet both sit on an expert panel that advises the Government on therapeutics and vaccines.
The Straits Times
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Professor Ranga Krishnan speaking from the United States in a video screened last Friday at the awards. He received the President s Science and Technology Medal for his role in advancing health and biomedical sciences research in Singapore.ST PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERN
A professor who helped lay the groundwork for research into infectious diseases in Singapore was yesterday honoured for his efforts.
Professor Ranga Krishnan, 64, received a medal under the President s Science and Technology Awards - the highest recognition for exceptional research scientists and engineers here - from President Halimah Yacob at the Istana.
Prof Ranga, who is now chairman of the Health Ministry s National Medical Research Council, had helped establish the emerging infectious diseases programme at Duke-NUS Medical School when he was dean from 2008 to 2015.
One of the school s five signature programmes, it has since yielded many breakthroughs during various outbreaks of infectious diseases, including the current Covid-19 pandemic.