Singapore seeks first vaccination of all adults by end August

Singapore will lengthen the time between vaccination doses to six to eight weeks, in an effort to stretch out limited supply that could see its entire adult population receive a first shot by the end of August.The revised strategy comes amid a new wave of infections that has forced the city-state to return to lockdown-like conditions and caused the cancellation of high-profile initiatives like the World Economic Forum and an air travel bubble with Hong Kong.

The government will also authorize the vaccine in use from Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE for children as young as 12 years old, the ministry of health said in a statement on Tuesday, making Singapore one of the first places in the world to do so. That move follows approvals including from the U.S. and Canada earlier this month. Limited supply means that the rollout is only just reaching those aged 40 to 44 years old starting Wednesday. "The fact is, we are constrained by supply,” Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said at a briefing. "We have a steady stream of supply but are constrained by it, so we can only vaccinate as fast as supplies arrive, and we have a lot more demand than supply.”