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SINGAPORE \u2013 Singapore is looking at supporting the development and production of new mRNA influenza vaccines here. This will greatly boost the nation\u2019s pandemic preparedness and is key to helping it exit the next deadly contagion, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung.<\/p>\n
The Health Ministry hopes to work with the likes of medical research organisation Hilleman Laboratories – which has its headquarters and manufacturing facility in Singapore, to develop new mRNA vaccines.<\/p>\n
Messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccines, which were first harnessed widely in the fight against Covid-19<\/span><\/a>, played a critical role in curbing its spread.<\/p>\n Such vaccines probably offer the greatest flexibility in development and time to market, Ong said in an interview with The Straits Times and Lianhe Zaobao.<\/p>\n mRNA vaccine technology allows vaccines to be\u202fdesigned and produced more quickly<\/span><\/a> than traditional ones, making them a good option to combat a fast-spreading outbreak.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s useful to try out something that\u2019s mRNA platform, and you need to produce it for peacetime and keep the facility warm,\u201d he explained. \u201cSo let\u2019s produce a vaccine that is commonly used. Influenza is a possibility.\u201d<\/p>\n On pandemic preparedness, he said Singapore is \u201c50 per cent\u201d prepared and that \u201ca lot more important work needs to be done\u201d.<\/p>\n Critically, this means building up vaccine manufacturing and development capability.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it is the most important because when you have a Disease X kind of pathogen in the next pandemic, the only way for the world to exit it is to have an effective vaccine.\u201d<\/p>\n Disease X is the name given to a future epidemic caused by an unknown pathogen<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWith an effective vaccine, we can expect a similar experience to how we dealt with the Covid-19 outbreak \u2013 vaccinate, open up, then exit.\u201d<\/p>\n