Part of the reason up to 150,000 elderly people in Singapore have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 is the “fears and concerns” bred from misinformation, said Temasek CEO Ho Ching.
Another key factor Mdm Ho identified was that nearly half of people over 80 are likely suffering from dementia which can manifest as “paranoia” and “suspicions” or “passivity and fear of moving out of comfort zone or daily routine”.
In a Facebook post on Friday (23 July) about the number of linked and unlinked community cases in the country, Mdm Ho, who is also the wife of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, asserted that the vaccination coverage for people over 70 years of age is “less than ideal”.
Though the vaccination coverage of people ages 60 to 69 have been “very encouraging”, she explained that about 120,000 to 150,000 people in the Pioneer Generation are still unvaccinated and “highly exposed”.
“They are naked as far as the virus is concerned, and they are at high risk of going into critical or worst outcomes,” Mdm Ho warned.
She went on to say that all cases of COVID-19 are ultimately linked whenever a big cluster develops fast.
Referring to a chart released by the Ministry of Health (MOH) on the number of linked and unlinked community cases in the last month, Mdm Ho suggested that it would be “useful” to also include “unquarantined linked” cases to the chart.
“This will give us a sense of the ratio between quarantined linked, and unquarantined linked,” she said, adding that it will also provide a “sense of scope and effectiveness” of the country’s ringfencing.
Mdm Ho continued: “True, some unlinked will later pop over to the unquarantined linked bucket. That is to be expected.
“Essentially, the unquarantined linked were leaks from the contact tracing effort, and the larger that is, the more likely we will see these nodes creating more hidden nodes which could pop up later as unlinked cases.”
She then stressed that the best protection against the virus is vaccination, describing it as “giving everyone an invisible and highly breathable mask that stays on guard 24/7 to protect us all the time”.
Mdm Ho also detailed how vaccinations can help, stating that even just one shot of the mRNA vaccine can help protect against severe or critical illness starting from about seven to 12 days after the injection.
She emphasised the need to ensure that the Pioneer Generation is vaccinated, adding that while one dose of the vaccine may not be as “protective” as two doses, starting with one will provide some “baseline protection” against a more severe illness.
Misinformation and dementia are key factors behind why elderly folks remain unvaccinated
In the comments section of her post, one netizen expressed shock that so many elderly folks in Singapore remain unvaccinated. Seeking clarification, he asked, “We have been encouraging them to do so for many months if they refuse to do so, why should the rest of Singaporeans suffer and lockdown?”
Mdm Ho replied to his comment saying that part of the issue could be the “fears and concerns” that need to be addressed “one by one face to face”.
She stressed that much of the fear also comes from misinformation.
“I’m surprised at the level of misinformation which can be swallowed and convincingly and passionately spread by folks who are literate, well travelled and well meaning,” Mdm Ho added.
“But another key factor is that nearly half of folks above 80 years old would already have dementia – and part of the dementia can be in the form of paranoia, suspicions, while another part is just passivity and fear of moving out of comfort zone or daily routine.”
She then saluted the Silver Generation Office (SGO) for their “tireless, patience and persistent” work with senior residents.
In a separate comment, another netizen asked if the Government would consider making vaccinations compulsory for all residents, to which Mdm Ho replied saying “not for now”.
“I think it is more important to make sure that we have other additional types of vaccines which can be available so as to take care of folks who can’t take the mRNA, eg folks who got anaphylaxis from their 1st shot,” she explained.
“Such options will likely be available before end of the year.”
Mdm Ho then cautioned against “bullying” people with the threat of compulsory vaccination as they are likely already “stressed and scared”. Instead, she encouraged patience.
