80 Percent Of Its Population Has Been Fully Vaccinated Against COVID-19, Singapore Surpasses The UAE To Chile

COVID-19 vaccine illustrations. (Wikimedia Commons / bratislavskysamospravnykraj)

JAKARTA - Singapore has successfully provided full COVID-19 vaccinations for 80 percent of its 5.7 million population according to local officials, making it the most vaccinated country in the world.

With this success, Singapore is also preparing to do the next easing of restrictions, to revive the economy of the Lion Country.

"We have passed another milestone, where 80 percent of our population has received their full two-dose regimen", Singapore's Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said in a post on Facebook on Sunday, citing Al-Jazeera on August 29.

"That means Singapore has taken a step forward in making ourselves more resilient to COVID-19", he continued.

This success gives the small city-state the highest complete COVID-19 vaccination rate in the world, according to a tracker by Reuters news agency.

Other countries with high vaccination rates include the United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, and Chile, which have completely inoculated more than 70 percent of their population.

Singapore, which started its COVID-19 vaccine campaign in January, has largely relied on vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.

Previously, Minister Ong said, if Singapore can continue to control the number of cases and severe diseases, and the capacity of health facilities is not excessive, Singapore will open up its economy even more, allowing social activities, including quarantine-free travel.

"Our lives will be more normal, (and) our livelihoods will be more protected", Minister Ong said.

Earlier, Ong, along with two other ministers, described what the new normal would look like in an article in the Straits Times in June.

They said large gatherings like the New Year's Countdown would resume and businesses would have the assurance that their operations would not be disrupted.

Singaporeans will also be allowed to travel again, at least to countries that have also brought the coronavirus under control.

"We will recognize each other's vaccination certificates. Travelers, especially those who are vaccinated, can self-test before departure and be released from quarantine with a negative test on arrival", they said.

To note, Singapore reported 113 new infections on Saturday, according to Channel News Asia. In total the country has recorded a total of 67.171 cases and 55 deaths since the pandemic began.