Singapore has become the first Asian country to approve the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine and said it expects to start receiving shots by the end of the year.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, 68, said Monday he would be among the early recipients in the city-state of 5.7 million people, which has one of the lowest fatality rates globally from the coronavirus. The government said it expects to have secured enough vaccines for everyone by the third quarter of next year.
"My colleagues and I, including the older ones, will be getting ourselves vaccinated early. This is to show you, especially seniors like me, that we believe the vaccines are safe," Lee said in a national broadcast, adding that the vaccines would be free, voluntary and given first to healthcare workers and the elderly.