American biotechnology company Moderna has asked the authorities in Singapore to approve the use of its Covid-19 vaccine in the city state and could arrive as early as this month if all goes well.

Moderna chief executive Stephane Bancel told The Straits Times on 1 December the company is in talks with the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) in Singapore.

Also read: Part 2: Are airports and ground handlers in APAC ready for a vaccine?

Last month, health minister Gan Kim Yong said Singapore would work on securing a portfolio of Covid-19 vaccines, including Pfizer and BioNTech’s candidate, instead of relying on just one vaccine.

Moderna on 30 November applied for emergency use authorisation of its Covid-19 vaccine in the United States, following the release of the full results from its late-stage clinical trial.

Results from the trials which involved 30,000 people had shown that the vaccine was 94.1 percent effective in preventing Covid-19, and 100 percent effective at preventing severe disease from the coronavirus.

Moderna’s Bancel said that the company was on track to produce 20 million doses by the end of December, and from 500 million to a billion in 2021.

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