In Parliament
Oral Reply by Minister for Transport Ong Ye Kung to Parliamentary Question on the Recognition and Acceptance of the COVID-19 Vaccination between Singapore and Other Countries
1 March 2021
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Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked the Minister for Transport
a. what is the progress on reaching a bilateral agreement with countries to give recognition to the COVID-19 vaccination taken by the respective residents travelling to each other's country; and
b. whether Singapore will only accept vaccines that have been approved by the Health Sciences Authority and residents that have taken such approved vaccines before they can travel to Singapore.
Reply by Minister for Transport Ong Ye Kung:
1. Vaccination has given hope that countries may be able to reduce the risk of infection, hence step down border measures such as testing and Stay-Home Notice (SHN) requirements, and progressively restore international air travel in a safe manner. However, for that to happen, more scientific data needs to be available, so that health authorities can determine the extent to which vaccines can reduce the likelihood of an individual infecting others. Until then, it is premature to decide if border measures can be reduced for vaccinated individuals, and whether for purposes of implementing border measures, there should be differentiation between vaccines.
2. Notwithstanding this, a no-regret step is to start working on a system of mutual recognition of vaccine certification between countries. We have put in place a system of digital vaccine certification in Singapore, that is tamper-proof and verifiable. The system relies on HealthCerts, a set of digital standards for issuing digital COVID-19 test result certificates developed by the Government Technology Agency (GovTech) and the Ministry of Health (MOH). We are in discussions at the International Civil Aviation Organization and with various countries on the mutual recognition of such certifications. The discussions will take some time, as most countries have only just started vaccinations and looking into certification.
3. Over the past year, we have been able to allow some travel to take place, without requiring vaccinations as a condition for entry into Singapore, and we have no plans to now impose such requirements. Instead, we use testing and SHN requirements to ensure that travellers do not bring the virus into our communities.