Singapore, Dec 14 (IANS): Singapore on Monday joined a growing list of countries including the US and the UK in granting use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to prevent Covid-19 in individuals aged 16 years and above.

The vaccination regime submitted by Pfizer-BioNTech requires two doses of vaccine to be administered 21 days apart.

Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong said in a national broadcast that the first shipment of the vaccine doses should arrive by the end of this month.

"We also expect other vaccines to arrive in Singapore in the coming months. If all goes according to plan, we will have enough vaccines for everyone in Singapore by the third quarter of 2021," he said.

"Vaccine supply will be limited globally at the outset and will arrive in Singapore in batches over several months. We will progressively vaccinate our entire population, with our first priority for those who are at greater risk," Singapore's Ministry of Health said in a statement.

An expert committee set up by the ministry recommended that vaccination should start with groups who are at greater risk and hence most in need, including healthcare workers and frontline workers, as well as vulnerable groups at greater risk of severe complications from Covid-19 infection, such as the elderly.

While everyone who is medically eligible should be vaccinated, vaccination should remain voluntary, the committee said.

"To secure early access to safe and effective vaccines for our population, we have signed Advance Purchase Agreements with Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech and Sinovac, and are in discussions with a few other pharmaceutical companies," the Ministry of Health said.

As of 12 pm on Monday, there were no new cases of locally transmitted Covid-19 infection in Singapore.