Singapore sees early rush for Sinovac vaccine

People queue to enquire about Sinovac vaccine at a clinic, during the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak in Singapore

Offering Sinovac Biotech Covid-19 vaccines to the public in Singapore for the first time since Friday, several private clinics reported overwhelming demand for the Chinese-made shot, despite already available rival vaccines having far higher efficacy. Singapore has vaccinated almost half its 5.7 million population with at least one dose of the vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. Both have shown efficacy rates of well over 90% against symptomatic disease in clinical trials, compared with Sinovac's 51%. Earlier this week, officials in neighbouring Indonesia warned that more than 350 medical workers have caught Covid-19 despite being vaccinated with Sinovac and dozens have been hospitalised, raising concerns about its efficacy against more infectious variants. Evidence from other countries showed people who had taken the Sinovac vaccine were still getting infected, Kenneth Mak, Singapore's director of medical services, said on Friday. ‘There is a significant risk of vaccine breakthrough,’ he said, referring to the report on Indonesian healthcare workers.