Breking:First shipment of Covid-19 vaccine arrives in Asia, Singaporepore on SIA flight from Brussels

 The first batch of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine has landed in Singapore,

The first shifment of COvid -19 Vaccine arrives in Singapore- Image/Social Media

SINGAPORE - The first batch of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine has landed in Singapore, a crucial first step to vaccinate the populationInitially Covid passed the first stage of vaccination.

The Pifzer vaccine is the first vaccine and first batch  to arrive in Asia after its discovery -  - was carried by a Singapore Airlines (SIA) Boeing 747-400 freighter, SQ7979.

Brussels Belgium Flight leaves from Sunday (Dec 20) and landed at Changi Airport at about 7.30pm on Monday (Dec 21).

The shipment was prioritised for loading into the aircraft in Brussels, as well as during unloading in Singapore, SIA said.

Among those who were present at the airport on the arrival of the vaccine were Transport Minister Wong Ye Kung, Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore Mr Kevin Sham and chief executives of the Changi Airport Group and SIA.

  Ground handler shots were loaded onto a refrigerated truck before the vaccines were transferred to its cool chain Sats coolport and a refrigerator truck had already appeared there.

  Speaking to reporters, Mr Wong said: "We are ready to do this and a lot of preparatory work has begun to make it as smooth as possible."

  The airline said its vaccine handling on the same freighter flight route on December 19 passed the SIA's successful aptitude test.

Covid Vaccine first shifment in Singapore Airport

It carried out the trial with cool boxes used to pack the actual Covid vaccine, and had tracked the internal temperature within these boxes throughout the flight. It also monitored the rate at which dry ice within the box turned into carbon dioxide.

First shipment of Covid-19 vaccines arrive in Singapore

SIA senior vice-president Kar Chin Yu-sen said in a statement that the airline has been honored to be part of an important milestone in the fight against Covid-19.

     

The first batch of COVID-19 vaccines have arrived this evening in Singapore. Carried by a Singapore Airlines cargo flight from Brussels https://t.co/wjX2eTXZw1

— George Putong (@George_Putong) December 21, 2020

  "It has demonstrated the readiness of the SIA and the Singapore Air Hub for the crucial task of transporting and distributing the Covid-19 vaccine internationally," he said.

  The Pfizer-Bioentech vaccine is the first Covid-19 vaccine approved by the Health Sciences Authority in Singapore.  Its management and use is still a work in progress.

  The vaccine has already been projected in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States.

The Pfizer-Bioentech vaccine  Covid-19 vaccine approved by the Health Sciences Authority in Singapore

  Singapore is one of the first countries to receive the vaccine, and other vaccines are expected to arrive in the coming months, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced last week.

These vaccines are currently free and voluntarily offered to Singaporeans and long-term residents.

  Preference has been given to healthcare and front-line staff as well as the elderly and frail patients.

   If all goes according to plan, adequate vaccines will be available for everyone in Singapore by the third quarter of 2021.

  The republic has also increased its capacity to store and transport the Covid-19 vaccine, and the region is becoming known as the Covid-19 vaccine center.

  Shipping from Europe via Singapore to Southeast Asia and the Southwest Pacific is planned when the approval of the broader regulator will be secured.

  The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore and Changi Airport Group have formed a task force to work on the vaccine handling process.  The task force has 18 members from the air cargo sector, including the SIA and ground handlers SATS and Donata.

  Logistics firm DHL Global Forwarding, a division of German logistics giant DHL, said it had completed the shipment of the vaccine cargo from a production site in the Belgian city of Puerto Rico to airport security agencies in Brussels.

  DHL will also handle the final distribution of the vaccine at designated locations in Singapore, it said.