Four vaccination centres to close this month, more may follow
Four vaccination centres will be closing down at the end of this month and more may follow as the vaccination rate in Singapore goes up, Senior Minister of State for Health Janil Puthucheary said yesterday.
However, the number of Public Health Preparedness Clinics (PHPCs) that offer vaccinations will be increased from the 79 now to around 100 by the end of next month. There are 37 vaccination centres in operation. The list of PHPCs where people can get jabbed against Covid-19 can be found at vaccine.gov.sg/locations
Those unable to go to vaccination centres or PHPCs to get inoculated will be visited by the Government's mobile and home vaccination teams, he said.
Dr Janil was replying to 19 MPs who had asked for updates on the Covid-19 situation.
Currently, 81 per cent of Singapore's population are fully vaccinated.
Noting that some MPs had asked about the criteria for moving from one stage of reopening to the next, Dr Janil said that what determines this is not just the vaccination rate.
"I can understand the desire for transparent and pre-determined criteria, but other than vaccination rates, we need to also consider case numbers, the transmission trajectory, our social behaviour in adherence to the safe management measurements and the status of the testing regimes," he said.
To encourage the take-up of vaccines, he said MOH has been working with stakeholders to address concerns of those who have not received them over medical complications from pre-existing diseases, misinformation and those who do not see the need for vaccinations.
Responding to Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh, who asked about the number of Singaporeans who cannot take the vaccine for medical reasons, Dr Janil said this is not a fixed number, given how the number is continually assessed. He assured the House that it is a small number and that the Government will pay close attention to it.
Mr Singh, who is chief of the Workers' Party, also asked if the Government has a position on testing-related subsidies for Singaporeans who cannot take the jabs for medical reasons.
To this, Dr Janil said such individuals have some degree of vulnerability and may need to be careful about their exposure to the wider community, as testing is not going to protect them from their vulnerability.
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now
