SINGAPORE — Some 40 Covid-19 vaccination centres will be set up here, with each centre able to deliver an estimated 2,000 injections a day, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Thursday (Jan 28)

More of these centres will be set up over the next few weeks at areas that attract a large population or along major public transport routes to ensure that everyone can conveniently get their vaccinations, it said in a statement.

On Wednesday, Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing had said that by end-March, the aim is to have one community vaccination centre in each public housing estate.

A handful of vaccination centres have opened at venues such as Changi Airport Terminal 4 and Raffles City Convention Centre and the first few groups of people to get their shots were frontline workers, including those in the healthcare, aviation, maritime and land transport sectors.

This week, one at Tanjong Pagar Community Club (CC) began operations and another is slated to open next Monday at the Teck Ghee Community Centre in Ang Mo Kio.

Polyclinics and selected Public Health Preparedness Clinics (PHPCs) will also serve as vaccination sites, apart from these vaccination centres. Senior residents can already be vaccinated at nine polyclinics and 21 PHPCs.

By next Monday, all 20 polyclinics islandwide will begin offering vaccinations against Covid-19. 

Although these vaccination sites are accessible by wheelchair, MOH will reach out to seniors who have mobility issues and deliver the vaccines to those who have difficulty visiting these centres or clinics in person.

Singapore’s vaccination exercise for its older population kicked off on Wednesday with more than 250 seniors vaccinated at Tanjong Pagar CC and Ang Mo Kio Polyclinic.

“Sign-ups for Covid-19 vaccination by seniors in the community have been encouraging. We expect more seniors to sign up in the coming days as letters are progressively being sent to invite them to book an appointment for their vaccination,” MOH said.

As of Wednesday, officials have sent out more than 10,000 personalised letters to elders living in Tanjong Pagar and Ang Mo Kio and more than a third of them have booked their appointments within two days of receiving the invitation.

The remaining ones living in the two towns will receive their invitation letters in the coming week. Seniors living in other parts of the island will also begin receiving their invitation letters starting from mid-February. 

More than 113,000 people have received their first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine and more than 50 have completed two doses.

Of those who have been vaccinated, there have been 432 “adverse event reports” that were resolved within a few days, MOH said.

Three people suffered anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction, but recovered after a day in hospital, it added.