SINGAPORE: Singapore reported 31 new COVID-19 cases as of noon on Monday (Sep 21), including nine imported infections, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in its daily preliminary report.
This takes the national tally to 57,607.
AdvertisementAdvertisementNo new community cases were reported. All imported cases had been placed on stay-home notice upon their arrival in Singapore, said MOH.
More details of the cases will be given on Monday night, the ministry said.
[h=3]READ: A ‘science first’ approach to making COVID-19 vaccines, says Singapore pharmaceutical industry body[/h] AdvertisementAdvertisementA pharmaceutical association in Singapore said in an interview with CNA that it is committed to a “science first” approach in the development of COVID-19 vaccines.
Vaccine development is traditionally a complex task that can take as long as 20 years, said Mr Ashish Pal, vice-president of the Singapore Association of Pharmaceutical Industries.
“You have pre-discovery phase that can last two to four years. Pre-clinical and clinical trials can take anything between five and 15 years and that does not include regulatory approvals and manufacturing," he said.
“Companies that are developing vaccine candidates are now working on multiple elements of the development process … so (it) is in many ways much more risky, given the fact that a lot is happening much faster, but also in tandem.”
Despite the urgency, it is important not to compromise on safety, Mr Pal said.
The World Health Organization said earlier this month that it does not expect widespread vaccinations against COVID-19 until the middle of next year. None of the candidate vaccines in advanced clinical trials so far has demonstrated a “clear signal” of efficacy at the level of at least 50 per cent sought by the WHO, it said.
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