Singapore: H1N1 jabs at $29 each

H1N1 jabs at $29 each

Straits Times, 29 October 2009
By Judith Tan & Jessica Jaganathan

The vaccine is available only to adults over 18 and will cost $29 per jab.

A SHOT of the H1N1 vaccine will cost $29 at the 18 polyclinics islandwide when it arrives in Singapore in about a week.

And for now, it is available only to adults over 18, as it is still being tested on children.

The price was agreed upon by the two health-care clusters, Singapore Health Services (SingHealth) and National Healthcare Group (NHG), to make the vaccine affordable to everyone.

SingHealth Polyclinics chief executive officer Tan Chee Beng said yesterday: 'At $29 nett at the polyclinics, the cost of the H1N1 vaccination is much lower than Tamiflu. It is a cost effective shield against H1N1.'

The antiviral drug Tamiflu can cost a patient between $45 and $70.

Private clinics said they were still awaiting word from the Health Ministry on pricing but would probably charge $30 to $32 for the shots.

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It's interesting that Malaysia could just order and obtain 400,000 A/H1N1 flu shots, whereas for Singapore, the MOH has imported sufficient vaccines to offer to their citizens albeit by charging nearly at cost to all who wish to be vaccinated. It baffles me how they are able to book so much vaccine doses despite the global shortage, so that it is confident of offering the vaccine to all its population for now over the age of 18 years...