The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said in a press release on 18 November that Australia has returned about 500,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for Covid-19 to Singapore.
The vaccines were part of a dose sharing arrangement that was announced between the two countries in August 2021, to help speed up Australia’s vaccination.
The vaccines were returned to Singapore ahead of schedule and will be used to support Singapore’s booster programme.
MFA’s press release reads:
“Australia has returned around 500,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine to Singapore on 18 November 2021, as part of the dose sharing arrangement that both countries had agreed on in August 2021.
Under the agreement, Singapore had sent around 500,000 vaccine doses to Australia on 2 September 2021 to help accelerate Australia’s vaccination rollout. The returned doses from Australia will support Singapore’s ongoing programme to administer COVID-19 booster vaccinations to eligible segments of our population.
This dose-sharing arrangement is testament to the strong relations between Singapore and Australia, underpinned by our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The health and foreign affairs officials from both countries have worked closely to implement the arrangement. Throughout the pandemic, both countries have also shared best practices to combat COVID-19, cooperated to keep markets open and ensure supply chain connectivity, and worked together to resume two-way quarantine-free travel.”
Image source: Prime Minister’s Office, Singapore YouTube