As countries wait for vaccinations to be rolled out, humans are left exposed to COVID-19. This has led to most governments worldwide encouraging their citizens to have as little human contact as possible and to avoid crowded spaces.
As a result, the transport sector has taken a serious hit, from local transport to global supply chains, urban traffic has been significantly reduced. Passenger numbers have dropped but public transport systems continue to run.
This leaves transport staff exposed to high numbers of people, and therefore more exposed to the risk of COVID-19. The Singapore government has launched an initiative to vaccinate and protect the public-facing transport sector staff.
As at 10 Feb 2021, more than 52,000 personnel in the transport sector have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. They include close to 39,000 frontline aviation and maritime workers who have been vaccinated under the Sea-Air Vaccination Exercise (SAVE) launched three weeks ago. With this, more than 90% of the 43,000 frontline aviation and maritime workers have received their first vaccine shot.
Frontline aviation workers including pilots, cabin crew and airport staff come into contact with travellers and their belongings while frontline maritime workers have to go onboard ships in port. They continue their work in these high-risk environments to keep air and sea hubs open. The vaccination of these workers will help provide added protection and assurance as they go about their duties and strengthen the nation’s border defence against COVID-19.
Over 14,000 workers from bus and train operators have also received their first dose of the vaccine since 25 Jan 2021. The remaining 66,000 land transport workers are scheduled to receive their vaccination over the coming months. The vaccination of transport workers is part of Singapore’s national vaccination strategy to protect frontline workers and their families. This is on top of existing measures to protect the health of the workers, including the wearing of masks and other personal protective equipment as required, safe distancing and frequent testing.