Singapore’s recovery stalled by 100k stubborn seniors who won’t get jabs

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Singapore’s recovery stalled by 100k stubborn seniors who won’t get jabs

By Chris Barrett

Singapore: When Singapore reached the 80 per cent full vaccination mark in late August, it was supposed to signal the beginning of its final lap of the pandemic after being a global leader in its handling of the virus.

Nearly two months later, however, it is being overtaken in its bid to live with COVID-19 by those who trailed well behind.

An elderly resident waits to receive her COVID-19 vaccine in Singapore last month. Tens of thousands of people over the age of 60 have still not been vaccinated.

An elderly resident waits to receive her COVID-19 vaccine in Singapore last month. Tens of thousands of people over the age of 60 have still not been vaccinated. Credit: Bloomberg

Far from removing the shackles of restrictions, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s government on Wednesday extended curbs that limit gatherings to two people for another month.

It is symptomatic of the cautious approach that’s led even simple pleasures such as music inside restaurants and bars to be banned for many months.

Now, though, after setting the standard in the region with its COVID-19 immunisation drive, vaccine hesitancy is playing a key role in holding Singapore back.

Its hospital system is under severe pressure, with isolation rooms 90 per cent occupied and intensive-care beds two-thirds full.

A significant number of unvaccinated seniors just won’t get the jab.

“At the current situation, we face considerable risk of the healthcare system being overwhelmed,” said Lawrence Wong, the Finance Minister and co-chair of the multi-ministry COVID-19 taskforce.

The city-state’s Ministry of Health reported last month that about 100,000 people aged 60 and above were yet to be vaccinated despite having been in the priority category.

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This week, the government said about 100 of them were being infected per day. The numbers may seem small but in a health system limited in size - Singapore has about 1650 isolation beds and 200 ICU places - authorities are concerned with how quickly they add up even when 98 per cent of people overall have mild or no symptoms at all.

There was a new daily high of 18 deaths in Singapore on Wednesday - as well as a near record 3862 new cases - and the unvaccinated elderly accounted for more than two-thirds of patients who had passed away from the virus or were in the ICU, Health Minister and fellow taskforce co-chair Ong Ye Kung said.

“For the unvaccinated seniors in their 60s, our data shows one in four will require oxygen, ICU care or will succumb,” he said.

As for why they have resisted the jab, a study in June by Singapore Management University found nearly 80 per cent cited fear of side effects while 25 per cent of respondents said they didn’t believe in vaccination in general.

The Singapore government has tried to convince them by tackling disinformation and now by barring the unvaccinated from dining at hawker centre and even from entering shopping malls.

It’s a tactic questioned by Professor Paul Tambyah, an infectious diseases expert in Singapore and president of the Asia Pacific Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infection.

As chairman of the opposition Singapore Democratic Party, he has proposed an alternative strategy that includes targeted closures of venues rather than widespread restrictions, saying “we have no choice but to live with the virus”.

“Banning people from going to coffee shops or hawker centres, which are open air, is not going to work,” Tambyah said during an online event organised by his party last week.

“I think the public health benefit is minimal but the cost in terms of the trust, in terms of the buy-in from the people, is not there.“

Singapore has, meanwhile, attempted to protect its status as a regional business and aviation hub by opening up quarantine-free travel lanes from the United States, United Kingdom, Europe and South Korea.

There is also likely to be a similar arrangement with Australia soon.

However, the island’s stuttering reopening has taken a toll.

“The situation in Singapore as a player in a globally connected economy is going from bad to worse,” said Singapore-based Australian investment banker Arv Sreedhar, who is managing director of corporate finance at asset management firm Atlantic Partners Asia.

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“While other countries and financial capitals are leaving COVID behind to open up and stick to it, my opinion is that Singapore appears to be stuck in an infinite loop of fear, lockdowns and rhetoric that defy both medical advice and common sense.”

He said the Singapore offices of many companies were moving towards a more localised mid-level workforce with senior executives leaving and running the management from offshore.

Wong, the virus taskforce co-chair, admits “this is probably the most difficult phase in our journey through COVID-19 so far”. He said it was too risky to allow even five people from the same household to eat out together right now, as had been requested by the restaurant association here.

But as Singapore begins rolling out booster shots, he insists “at some point the wave will peak”.

“We will also have better immunity against the virus as more people get exposed to it and we will have more people having boosters in the coming weeks,” he said.

“This phase will not last indefinitely.”

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