SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) – A wholly owned subsidiary of Livingstone Health Holdings, Livingstone Health International, has been appointed by the Ministry of Health (MOH) to lead the procurement of Sinovac Biotech Covid-19 vaccines on behalf of private healthcare institutions in Singapore.

Livingstone Health shares jumped on Wednesday (Sept 15) on the news, with the Catalist-listed stock trading up 1.8 cents, or 10.7 per cent, to 18.6 cents as at 9.44am.

The healthcare provider will import and supply the vaccines via the special access route set up by the Health Sciences Authority and MOH, it said in a bourse filing on Wednesday (Sept 15).

The vaccines will be available from Sept 24 at the four clinics under the group’s primary healthcare arm Phoenix Medical Group, and also at 13 other primary-care clinics islandwide.

Livingstone Health said it is unable to quantify the financial effects under the initiative, noting that the take-up rate for the vaccine “cannot be reasonably determined as at the date of this announcement”.

It added that it is exploring other opportunities with Sinovac Biotech, and will make further announcements when there are material developments.

In addition, the group said its non-executive chairman Teh Wing Kwan, chief executive Wilson Tay and chief business officer Dax Ng have personally committed to purchase and donate up to 500 doses of the Sinovac vaccines, “in line with the nation’s call to encourage and boost the vaccination take-up rate amongst seniors and the financially challenged”.

These vaccines will be administered free of charge for the first 250 seniors above 60 years of age who have registered and confirmed their interest through Phoenix Medical.

Shares of Livingstone Health closed 0.2 cents, or 1.2 per cent, lower at 16.8 cents on Tuesday.

• With additional information from The Straits Times