Monday, 26 Apr 2021 07:45 AM MYT
A member of the team behind the study taking blood pressure reading from a participant. NUHS pic via TODAY
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SINGAPORE, April 26 A team of clinician-scientists from the National University Health System (NUHS) has found that oral hydroxychloroquine and povidone-iodine throat spray are effective in reducing the spread of Covid-19 in high-transmission settings such as dormitories, cruise ships and prisons.
Their findings, which were presented to the media on Friday (April 23), were based on a study of more than 3,000 migrant workers living in Tuas South Dormitory during the height of the Covid-19 outbreak in dormitories in May last year.
January 31, 2021
Existing vaccines work against the virus variants circulating in the community, say experts.
Unsplash
SINGAPORE - New variants of the virus that causes Covid-19 have recently caused some concern that they may evade the immune response induced by existing vaccines, but there is no evidence yet of this occurring, said experts here, urging people not to hesitate over getting vaccinated. Existing vaccines work against the virus variants circulating in the community, so people should continue to step up to receive the vaccine, said Professor Benjamin Seet, deputy group chief executive for education and research at the National Healthcare Group and a member of the expert committee on Covid-19 vaccination.
This was even though some solutions were as novel as the pathogen itself - some vaccine candidates were being developed with new technologies that have not been used in any other vaccines on the market.
The data was limited, so risks had to be taken and bets made after careful analysis of available information. They all paid off on Monday night (Dec 21), when Singapore became the first nation in Asia to receive doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine. This, just weeks after Britain and the United States received theirs.
Professor Benjamin Seet, who oversees the expert panel that provides the Singapore Government with advice on Covid-19 therapeutics and vaccines, said during a press conference on Monday that advance purchase agreements hinged upon many factors, including safety and availability.
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
How Singapore took steps to ensure access to Covid-19 vaccines
Singapore s first batch of Covid-19 vaccines being unloaded at the Sats Coolport cold chain facility at Changi Airport on Monday night.PHOTO: MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION
Among those who helped Singapore procure Covid-19 vaccines are (from left) Associate Professor Tan Say Beng, executive director of National Medical Research Council; Ms Goh Wan Yee, senior vice-president and head of healthcare and wellness strategy at EDB; Professor Benjamin Seet, deputy group chief executive for education and research at National Healthcare Group; and Dr Lisa Ooi Ann Gee, vice-president of healthcare and wellness strategy at EDB. ST PHOTO: TIMOTHY DAVID