The Workers’ Party (WP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Sengkang GRC Jamus Lim took to Facebook on Friday (16 July) to urge the public to stop sharing a false message that a 16-year-old boy had died due to COVID-19 vaccine.
“It has come to my attention that an obituary notice for a 16-year-old Anchorvale student, who recently passed, is being linked to COVID-19 vaccination. Ministry of Health, Singapore (MOH) has already issued a clarification on the matter,” said Assoc Prof Lim.
Earlier on Wednesday (14 July), MOH released a statement on its Facebook page clarifying that the recent death of the teenager was not caused by severe adverse reaction to COVID-19 vaccine.
“We are aware of speculation in Facebook, Telegram and WhatsApp chatgroups featuring an obituary that has led to conjecture that a teenager passed away from a COVID-19 vaccine-related severe adverse event,” said the Ministry.
“We wish to clarify that the demise mentioned in these posts and messages was not vaccine-related,” it added.
MOH also noted that this false news is also not related to a gym incident involving another 16-year-boy who suffered from a cardiac arrest after exercising. The Ministry revealed that this boy is currently recovering in the hospital.
In his Facebook post, Assoc Prof Lim said that he spoke with the Anchorvale student’s mother earlier this week, and reiterated MOH’s clarification that the student did not pass away because of COVID-19 vaccine-related reasons.
As such, he called on individuals who have received the false news to refrain from re-sharing them as a sign of respect to the deceased, as well as for the privacy of his family.
“The event is already traumatic and painful, and I would plead with anyone who has received this false message to refrain from sharing it, both as a gesture of respect for the privacy of the family, and as a mark of honor to the boy, who was an accomplished individual that should be remembered for different things: his filial piety, his sporting prowess, and his academic successes,” Assoc Prof Lim concluded.
