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Up until now, people in Singapore getting their Covid-19 vaccines have gotten either the Moderna or the Pfizer-BioNTech jabs (with Sinovac soon to come to private clinics).
Soon, another name will be added to this list: Comirnaty. But it's not a new vaccine, it's just the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine under a different name.
Same as Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines except for label
In a press release on Wednesday (Jun. 23), the Ministry of Health announced that as the government accelerates the vaccine supplies to Singapore, a batch of vaccines that will be arriving is called "Comirnaty™".
The ministry explained that the vaccines are the same as the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines that have been used in Singapore's national vaccination programme.
They have the same research name — BNT162b2 — the same manufacturing processes and procedures, and the same finished product specifications as the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines.
MOH added that they also are similarly manufactured in Europe and shipped directly to Singapore.
The only difference between the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines and the Comirnaty vaccines, MOH said, is their label.
MOH will be adjusting the HealthHub records of people who received or who will be receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech or Comirnaty vaccine, so that they administratively categorise the vaccine as "Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty".
Marketed as "Comirnaty" in the EU
In a press release on Dec. 21, 2020, BioNTech and Pfizer announced that their Covid-19 vaccine would be marketed in the European Union under the brand name "Comirnaty".
The name Comirnaty represents a combination of the terms "Covid-19", "mRNA", "community", and "immunity".
This is in order to "highlight the first authorisation of a messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine, as well as the joint global efforts that made this achievement possible with unprecedented rigour and efficiency, and with safety at the forefront, during this global pandemic", the press release said.
MOH explained that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine that has been currently used in Singapore's vaccination programme is manufactured at various sites across Europe, and labelled according to the regulatory approval in various markets.
Top photo by Stephan Schulz/picture alliance via Getty Images.