Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan's Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on Contribution of Vaccines to Other Countries, 14 September 2021

QUESTION

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs (a) which countries has Singapore donated COVID-19 vaccines to; (b) how many doses have been donated to each of these countries; (c) what is the total cost of these donations; and (d) what are the considerations for donations to higher income countries like Brunei which have the financial means to purchase their own vaccines.

REPLY

          I would like to emphasise that we conducted a comprehensive assessment of the progress of our National Vaccination Programme, and made the decision to contribute our vaccines only when we were sure that we had, and will continue to have, enough vaccines for our people.

2        We had contributed 100,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine to Brunei on 20 August 2021. We had also contributed 20,000 doses of the Sinovac vaccines to Johor on 29 June 2021, and are working towards a further donation of around 100,000 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines to Johor. Due to contractual obligations with the vaccine manufacturers, we are not able to disclose the cost of vaccines.

3        Mr. Giam has asked about the considerations behind contributing vaccines to our neighbours, including higher income countries. As Members of the House are aware, there are global vaccine shortages and delivery delays. I would like to express our gratitude to our vaccine procurement team for securing sufficient vaccines for our people at such an early stage. In combatting a pandemic that knows no boundaries, no one is safe until everyone is safe, and it is therefore in our collective interest to help each other. One such example is the swap arrangement with Australia. We sent 500,000 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines to Australia recently, and we will receive the same quantity from Australia at a later date. This arrangement is mutually beneficial as it enables both countries to support each other in optimising our respective schedules for vaccinating our populations against COVID-19.

4        Our contributions are part of our broader commitment to work together with our neighbours in confronting the pandemic. While we continue to support regional and global efforts to combat the virus, it is sensible that we begin by helping our neighbours given their proximity to us, and the large number of cross-border flows between our countries. It is hence critical that we first bring the COVID-19 situation in our region under control.

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

SINGAPORE

14 SEPTEMBER 2021