A fair system In Singapore but not in OZ.Nursing homes in Singapore prepping for Covid-19 vaccination; seniors share fears of side effects
Many of the elderly, who are not in nursing homes, cite worries about the safety and potential side-effects of the vaccine.ST PHOTO: GIN TAY
SINGAPORE - Nursing homes have started identifying elderly residents suitable for Covid-19 vaccination.
St John's Home for Elderly Persons and the Methodist Welfare Services (MWS) Nursing Home-Yew Tee, for example, have identified those suitable and are in the process of getting consent from the seniors or their next of kin for the shots.
At the MWS Nursing Home-Yew Tee, about three in four of its 185 residents have been medically cleared for vaccination, its spokesman said.
Last week , the Government said that seniors aged 70 and above would be vaccinated earlier - from the end of January, instead of next month.
Many of the elderly who are not in nursing homes and interviewed by The Straits Times expressed a wait-and-see attitude towards getting vaccinated, citing worries about the safety and potential side effects of the vaccine.
Senior dance instructor Sitaravamma Sandrasegaren, 68, was among those hesitant.
She said: "I also do not have to be out of my home for long hours and Singapore has a low rate of infection at present, so I feel safe."
Like others interviewed, she said that her concerns about the vaccine intensified after news that over 30 seniors in Norway died after being vaccinated.
On Monday (Jan 18), the Norwegian health authorities said there was no evidence of a direct link between the deaths and the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and that all those who died were already seriously ill before being vaccinated.
Other Singaporeans, like businessman David **riel, 76, are inclined to be vaccinated as he needs to travel for business in the region.
He has a daughter living in Bali and his father, 103, is in Australia.
Mr **riel is closely monitoring news of the vaccine, saying that he does not "want to put something in my body that creates more problems than it solves".
Social service agencies that work with the elderly say that the receptivity of elderly Singaporeans to the vaccine varies. Many, though, have questions about the safety, efficacy and necessity of the vaccine.
For example, some think it is not necessary as they feel they would not catch Covid-19, while others are thankful the vaccine is given free, said Lions Befrienders chairman Anthony Tay.
