Vaccination rates have been going up among seniors who are aged 60 and above, though more work still needs to be done, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung yesterday.
Speaking at a mobile vaccination centre which was set up at 22A Whampoa Precinct Hall, Mr Ong said that the mobile vaccination teams have been up and running for three weeks so far, and have been effective in ramping up vaccination rates among seniors.
The number of unvaccinated seniors from this age group has fallen to 177,000, he said.
On July 20, the multi-ministry task force on Covid-19 said that the figure was 200,000, with a bigger push in the coming weeks to get these seniors inoculated.
Since July 7, mobile vaccination teams alone have reached out to about 3,240 individuals, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) in an update yesterday.
These teams go to selected community clubs and centres that are not being used as vaccination centres, as well as residents' committee centres at residential blocks, in towns including Bukit Merah, Sengkang, Tampines and Yishun.
Mr Ong noted that the vaccination drive has largely been working due to these grassroots efforts, and volunteers who have been visiting elderly households and taking them for their jabs.
The other major effort by MOH is to reach out to all doctors to persuade seniors to get their jabs - a move which has also been quite effective, noted Mr Ong.
Over the weekend, or by tomorrow, MOH will be reaching out to all general practitioners and traditional Chinese medicine practitioners to get their help in persuading their patients to get vaccinated.
"It's imperative for us if we want to contemplate opening up our economy... we must reach out to the seniors, as they are the most vulnerable... to get as many of them vaccinated as possible," he said.
Last Wednesday, MOH said that about 77 per cent of seniors aged 60 and above have received two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, with about 187,000 seniors yet to receive their first dose.
The mobile vaccination team run by Fullerton Health will remain for three days at one location and return in a couple of weeks for residents to get their second jab.
Fullerton Health's group chief executive Ho Kuen Loon told reporters yesterday that three of its mobile teams have been going around the island.
Each team can deliver some 200 shots a day. "(At the mobile vaccination centres), we are able to spend more time to address the residents' concerns," he said.
The concerns of the residents, who are mostly elderly, include having existing chronic disease and being on medication, making them fear they are unsuitable for vaccination. Some are worried about the side effects.
Mr Ho noted that many residents who turn up have the intention to get their jabs, but are hesitant and need some convincing.
Many are also accompanied by caregivers who are seniors themselves and who had not planned on getting jabbed, as they are worried that no one will be able to take care of their family members should they suffer from any side effects.
This was the case for Madam Ho Ping, 84, who accompanied her husband for his first jab. She said in Mandarin: "My husband has many illnesses, so I'm worried that if I get jabbed too and experience side effects, I won't be able to look after him if he is unwell."
After receiving assurance from the doctors that side effects from the jab are usually mild, she agreed to receive the vaccine with him.
Another resident, Mr Teo Pek Leong, 72, said that he had not found time to take his wife, Madam Lee Lye Choon, 70, for her jab, as she is a wheelchair user and needs kidney dialysis weekly. He said: "I often am very tired after I bring her (for dialysis) so it's good that this (mobile) centre is close by."
