Calls multiply among experts in Singapore for vaccine warrant as COVID-19 rises

SINGAPORE, Sept.21 (Reuters) – Some health experts in Singapore are calling for mandatory coronavirus vaccination with increasing number of severe cases of COVID-19 among unvaccinated people as infections rise and vaccination rate peaks at 82% of the population.

The government has linked the reopening to vaccination targets, but it suspended easing restrictions this month to watch for signs that serious infections could overwhelm the healthcare system.

“I would love to see vaccination warrants in over 60 years, they are the group most likely to die,” said Dale Fisher, infectious disease expert at National University Hospital in Singapore.

“This is the same reason the age group was selected early for the vaccines, the same reason this age group was selected for the booster shots.”

Singapore has been a model for coronavirus mitigation since the start of the pandemic with mandatory masks, effective contact tracing and a closed border.

In total, 62 of its 5.7 million people have died, and new daily infections have only been a handful for months.

But, like elsewhere in Southeast Asia, the Delta variant has spread in recent months and new daily cases have risen to around 1,000.

Several countries including the United States, France and Italy have announced mandatory vaccination programs, fearing the Delta variant and a slowdown in vaccinations will thwart plans to return to normal. Read more

Among those vaccinated in Singapore who caught the virus from May 1 to September 16, only 0.09% had to go to intensive care or died. The rate of unvaccinated was 1.7%.

The data for the elderly are particularly striking.

Among unvaccinated infected people aged 80 or over, 15% required intensive care or died. Only 1.79% of those vaccinated in this age group required intensive care or died.

“MORE PROTECTIVE”

Singapore did not make vaccination mandatory because Pfizer (PFE.N) and Moderna (MRNA.O) the shots have only emergency approval in the country although it has limited activities such as dining out for the unvaccinated.

Neither company responded to the question of whether they had sought full approval from Singapore.

With around 87,000 elderly people still unvaccinated, some experts say full approval could pave the way for a warrant.

“Vaccination is much more protective than the other measures we have in place, and less economically and socially damaging,” said Alex Cook, infectious disease modeling expert at the National University of Singapore.

“If we are not to impose vaccination, it seems strange to apply weaker and more expensive measures.”

The number of patients requiring oxygen support or intensive care more than quintupled this month to 146, including 18 in intensive care.

The government fears that the number of people in intensive care is growing rapidly on an exponential basis of infected people, especially if they are elderly and unvaccinated.

Singapore has around 100 intensive care beds for COVID-19 patients, and that can reach nearly 300 in the short term.

A vaccination mandate could come in the form of a reduction in activities for unvaccinated people related to their work, leisure and public transport use, infectious disease doctor Leong Hoe Nam said.

“You cannot go to malls or take public transport or eat out of restaurants unless you are vaccinated,” he said, giving examples of possible restrictions.

Only vaccinations against diphtheria and measles are legally required in Singapore.

The government offered the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines free and also approved payments to 144 people who suffered serious side effects, media reported.

Singapore has a long history of imposing rules, including a famous 1992 ban on the sale of chewing gum to avoid waste, but mandatory vaccines nonetheless would be a milestone.

“It will take political courage, there’s no doubt about it, but science says you’ll save hundreds of lives if you immunize the last 100,000 elderly people,” Fisher said.

Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan in Singapore; Editing by Miyoung Kim, Robert Birsel

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