Singapore becomes first Asian nation to approve Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine

The Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is the second to be authorised for pandemic use in Singapore, after the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

Singapore has become the first country in Asia to grant approval for Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine and the city-state said it expects the first shipment to arrive around March.

People above 70 years old attend to get a dose of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine at a vaccination center in Singapore. (REUTERS)

The Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is the second to be authorised for pandemic use in Singapore, after the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which is already being rolled out in the city-state.

As of Feb. 2, more than 175,000 individuals have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, Singapore's health ministry said on Wednesday.