Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Friday received his first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, making him the first Singaporean Cabinet member to be inoculated.

"So I took the opportunity to have my own jab this morning and now I'm done – 30 minutes waited, nothing happened," he said. "I've got my card, and the appointment to come back in three weeks' time. It's painless, it's effective. And it's important."

The prime minister was vaccinated along with Singapore General Hospital (SGH) staff at the official launch of vaccinations for healthcare workers, according to local media.