Serious vaccine side effects: 2 patients get highest financial aid of $225,000

Two patients suffering from serious side effects related to the Covid-19 vaccine have each received the highest payout of $225,000 in government financial aid so far, said the Ministry of Health (MOH).

One is a 16-year-old boy who suffered a cardiac arrest after his first dose of the vaccine.

"The Tier 1 payout of $225,000 has been extended to a total of two applicants so far, including this case," an MOH spokesman told The Straits Times on Monday.

Under the Vaccine Injury Financial Assistance Programme (Vifap) rolled out earlier this year, a one-time payout will be given to those who experienced medically significant, serious side effects. This is to give greater peace of mind to those being vaccinated.

MOH added that a total of $782,000 has been paid out, or is in the process of being paid out, to 144 applicants who have been assessed to have met the qualifying criteria. It did not give details on the other applicant who received the highest financial aid payout.

MOH said on Monday that the 16-year-old boy would likely be discharged in the coming weeks. He is currently undergoing inpatient rehabilitation.

The teen had collapsed at home after a gym weightlifting session on July 3, six days after receiving his first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty vaccine. He had developed acute severe myocarditis, or inflammation of the heart muscle, which led to the cardiac arrest.

On Monday, MOH added that the myocarditis was likely a serious adverse event caused by the vaccine, which may have been aggravated by the teen's strenuous lifting of weights and high consumption of caffeine through energy drinks and supplements.

On its website, MOH said that the amount of financial assistance provided through Vifap is fixed and dependent on the severity of the serious side effect.

These side effects are classified into three categories.

Those with the first type, which results in death or permanent severe disability, can receive a one-time payout of $225,000.

Those in the second category, which applies to cases who require admission to high dependency or intensive care wards, with subsequent recovery, can get $10,000.

The last one, for patients who need inpatient hospitalisation and medical intervention, with subsequent recovery, pays out $2,000.

In a written parliamentary reply last month, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said that as at June 25, the authorities had approved $451,000 worth of financial aid under Vifap to 102 applicants.

A month before in Parliament, then Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said that the Government had approved 30 applicants to receive payouts under Vifap.