Singapore hits 80% vaccination milestone

Singapore's Covid-19 vaccination rate has reached a new milestone, with 80 per cent of the population having received two doses of the vaccine.

Revealing this in a Facebook post yesterday, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said: "Singapore has taken another step forward in making ourselves more resilient to Covid-19."

He also said more than 4,300 housebound individuals had received their Covid-19 shots from home vaccination teams.

The Health Ministry tripled its home vaccination teams from 11 to 33 with the help of 200 volunteer doctors and nurses and the Singapore Armed Forces, to handle some 700 requests each week for home vaccinations. As a result, waiting time has been halved from eight weeks to four, Mr Ong added.

"We aim to complete all home vaccinations by end-Sept. That will be another important step forward," he said.

Experts said Covid-19 restrictions could be eased further now that the 80 per cent milestone has been reached, although loosening would have to be in phases as unvaccinated people are still at risk.

Calling the vaccination rate a "remarkable achievement", Professor Dale Fisher, a senior infectious diseases consultant at the National University Hospital (NUH), said yesterday that there is no need to rush to lift restrictions all at once as the phased reopening strategy has been working.

"We have waited for the vaccine to lead us out of the pandemic, and now we need to let it do so and trust that the high immunity levels will do their job. There is no appetite to be rash and have a freedom day with removal of all restrictions at once," he added.

Singapore will have to take some "bold steps" now that the majority of people have been vaccinated.

"I can see it will be hard to let go of many activities, but mass testing of asymptomatic vaccinated people and quarantining those who test positive impact the economy and people's mental health," said Prof Fisher. "Fundamentally, we need to get more comfortable with not identifying every case and focus on protecting the vulnerable rather than identifying every case and stopping the spread."

On Aug 6, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said one of the criteria for moving on to the next phase of the country's four-stage plan towards becoming Covid-19-resilient and reopening was an 80 per cent vaccination rate.

In addition, the overall situation should be stable, with no surges that threaten to overwhelm the healthcare system, he added.

Professor Teo Yik Ying, dean of the National University of Singapore's Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, said Singapore's healthcare system is "very much in control" of the situation, despite the recent outbreaks at Bugis Junction and North Coast Lodge, and the number of Covid-19-related deaths this month.

The number of cases hospitalised with severe disease and requiring either oxygen or intensive care is stable, he added, and higher case numbers have not translated to rising demand for advanced hospital care.

"This is exactly the evidence that shows vaccination is able to reduce the severity of Covid-19 infection, and with high vaccination uptake in the population, we are well poised to relax restrictions even further," said Prof Teo.

Professor Paul Tambyah, a senior infectious diseases consultant at NUH, said: "The important thing is that the impact on our society and healthcare system, despite having around 100 new locally transmitted cases daily for the last few days, has been minimal with few patients in the ICU (intensive care unit) or dying every day, thanks to our high vaccination rates."

He said restrictions on family visits, dormitory residents and dining at hawker centres and coffee shops should be eased as these "appear to be causing among the greatest hardship to the largest number of people without a really significant impact on public health".