Catalist-listed Healthway Medical Corporation (HMC) will begin to administer the Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine at selected HMC General Practitioner (GP) clinics in Singapore from September 8.
HMC, through sponsorship by Mainboard-listed real estate group OUE, will make available both doses of the Sinopharm vaccine free of charge for the first 1,000 seniors aged 60 and above who have registered and confirmed their interest. The cut-off date for those ages 60 and above was on September 1.
This initiative is in support of the government’s efforts to boost Covid-19 vaccination take-up rate among seniors who are at higher risk of falling critically ill if they are infected.
HMC says it has received “overwhelming” interest from the public for the Sinopharm vaccine. Those who have previously registered their interest for the vaccine have been invited to book their appointments. Others who wish to receive the vaccine can register their interest through HMC’s website. Confirmation is subject to availability of stock.
The Sinopharm vaccine will first be offered at three HMC GP clinics and progressively be rolled out to more HMC clinics. The two-dose vaccine will be priced at $99, inclusive of GST.
The Sinopharm vaccine is administered in two doses given three to four weeks apart. It is approved for use for anyone aged 18 years and above with no history of anaphylaxis and who is not pregnant.
Unlike Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty and Moderna that are messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines, Sinopharm uses an inactivated virus to elicit protection against the COVID-19 virus. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the vaccine has an estimated 79% efficacy against symptomatic and hospitalised disease.
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The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) approved applications for private hospitals and clinics to import Sinopharm through the Special Access Route on July 28, following authorisation of the vaccine by WHO for emergency use listing on May 7. It is produced by the Beijing Bio-Institute of Biological Products, a subsidiary of China National Biotech Group.
“Healthway is delighted to bring in the Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine under the Special Access Route and we aim to make the vaccines readily available and accessible to the public. We are grateful for the strong support from OUE to sponsor vaccinations for the first 1,000 seniors aged 60 years and older who have confirmed their interest. Through this initiative, we hope to contribute to the national effort to get as many people vaccinated as possible, especially our seniors, who are more at risk. The Sinopharm vaccine, which uses an inactivated virus, enables segments of our elderly population who are not eligible to take the mRNA vaccines to now get inoculated,” says Abram Suhardiman, executive director and deputy CEO of HMC.
“OUE is pleased to partner with Healthway to sponsor vaccines for 1,000 of our seniors in support of national efforts to get the elderly population fully inoculated. Through this contribution, we hope that seniors who have not yet gotten their vaccination will come forward and register for the vaccine” added Brian Riady, deputy CEO, OUE.
Providing the Sinopharm vaccine is HMC’s latest initiative to support the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic in Singapore. Other efforts include providing Antigen Rapid Test (ART) and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests at most of its GP clinics, as well as offering pre-departure testing (PDT) services at its clinics island wide. HMC also operates several vaccination centres and a mobile team in support of the national vaccination programme.
Shares in HMC closed down 0.1 cents or 2.94% lower at 3.3 cents on Sept 6.
Photo: Bloomberg
