SINGAPORE: More than 6,000 people in Singapore have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, the health ministry said on Wednesday, with numbers expected to rise substantially in the coming weeks as the city-state ramps up its immunisation drive.

Singapore started vaccinating healthcare workers on Dec. 30, becoming one of the first Asian countries to start its coronavirus inoculation programme.

The nation of 5.7 million people has been reporting relatively very few local cases in recent months and fatalities are among the world's lowest, with just 29 coronavirus-related deaths.

It has so far approved only the Pfizer-BioNTech's vaccine but has said it has secured enough doses from other vaccine-makers like Moderna and Sinovac to give to all citizens and residents by the third quarter this year.

Singapore may also be able to start vaccinating the elderly from the end of this month, slightly ahead of schedule, said Lawrence Wong, a minister who co-heads Singapore's virus taskforce.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong received his first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine last week.