The safety net in Singapore for post-COVID care is “totally inadequate”, said infectious diseases specialist and chairman of Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) Professor Paul Tambyah.
“This VIFAP is a one-off thing. After that you’re on your own,” he added.
In an hour-long Facebook Live discussion, titled “Ask Paul Anything”, on Tuesday evening (17 Aug), Prof Tambyah responded to a question on whether the maximum S$225,000 compensation under the Vaccine Injury Financial Assistance Programme (VIFAP) for those who experience severe adverse effects from the vaccine is enough, and whether the Government would provide long-term support beyond that.
He said that after the one-time payment, people are left to navigate the “complicated healthcare system” on their own. He added that the Government’s many-hands approach effectively means that many people will fall through the cracks.
The question referred to the recent news of a 16-year-old who suffered a cardiac arrest as a result of the COVID-19 vaccine. He received the highest payout under VIFAP for the category of death or permanent disability.
Noting that the inadequate social safety net in Singapore is a huge issue, Prof Tambyah cited an analysis who found that a majority of people with disabilities in Singapore are unemployed.
“This is something that needs to be dealt with,” he stressed.
Prof Tambyah continued, “The one good thing is that all over the world that is assisted technologies and so there is a possibility of things getting better. But currently, in Singapore, it’s up to you.
“It’s not established, it’s not easy, it’s not a structural thing. And the saddest thing, it’s not viewed as a right.
“So I think this is a huge structural gap in our society and unfortunately it’s out of the scope of this vaccinate assistance scheme.”
He went on to say that it is not just possible adverse effects from the vaccine that people need assistance with, but also the long-term effects of people who have been infected by COVID-19, referring to “long COVID”.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) explained that some people who have had COVID-19 continued to experience symptoms such as fatigue and respiratory and neurological symptoms in the long term, taking weeks or months to fully recover.
Prof Tambyah emphasised that there should be a better safety net in place for any kind of condition, whether precipitated by the disease itself or as a reaction to the vaccine.
Government should differentiate between those medically unable to be vaccinated vs those who chose not to
Over the course of the discussion, Prof Tambyah also spoke on the social impact of the vaccination programme, particularly the vaccination-differentiated approach that the Government has recently adopted.
Describing it as a “sensitive subject”, he noted that some people are unable to be vaccinated for medical reasons. He also said that it is important to recognise that there are many reasons why people do not opt-in for vaccination.
Prof Tambyah then suggested that the Government should put in an exemption category when it comes to rules and policies to distinguish between people who are medically unable to be vaccinated and those who choose not to.
Using the example of the measles vaccine, Prof Tambyah explained that the vaccine is mandatory for any child entering Primary 1 at national schools. However, exemptions are made for children who cannot be vaccinated due to medical reasons.
On the flip side, if parents simply do not want to vaccinate their children for non-medical reasons, the Ministry of Education (MOE) will not allow them into national schools.
They then have the option of being either home-schooled or to enroll in a private institution.
Something similar could be implemented with the COVID-19 vaccine, Prof Tambyah suggested.
“It respects people’s choice but you have to pay the price,” he asserted.
“And unfortunately, that means that the rich and can do it and the poor can’t,” said Prof Tambyah, adding that this is another huge problem in Singapore that needs to be addressed.
Vaccination for short-term pass holders
Another point Prof Tambyah talked about during the live discussion was whether the Government should extend the vaccines to short-term pass holders.
As a proponent of this, he noted that a major lesson learned from the KTV outbreaks was that those women who were in Singapore on short-term visit passes were vulnerable yet were not vaccinated.
Prof Tambyah explained that many of Singapore’s cases right now are seeded from the fisheries port and KTV clusters, adding that many of the people there may not have been eligible for the vaccines because they were not long-term pass holders, permanent residents, or citizens.
“If you think about it with the benefit of hindsight, if every KTV hostess or STVP holder or even the fishermen coming into the fishery port were vaccinated, there’s a good chance we wouldn’t have the problems that we have right now,” he elaborated.
Just a day after Prof Tambyah’s live discussion, the Ministry of Health (MOH) announced that short-term pass holders who have been in the country for an extended time are now eligible for free COVID-19 vaccines under the national vaccination programme.
In his discussion, Prof Tambyah posited that if vaccination was opened up to everyone right from the start – especially the vulnerable and those at high risk of transmission – the situation in Singapore would have turned out differently.
Watch the full discussion here:
