Bigger push will be made to vaccinate more older people against Covid-19: Ong Ye Kung, Singapore News & Top Stories

SINGAPORE – A greater effort will be made to encourage more elderly people to get vaccinated, as they remain the most vulnerable to Covid-19, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said on Wednesday (July 7th).

He highlighted how, in other countries with higher vaccination rates that have opened up, most of those who have suffered from severe Covid-19 disease are still elderly.

“What we really need to do is get more of our seniors vaccinated,” he said at a virtual press conference of the multi-ministerial working group on Covid-19.

“If you compare the ages, those over 70 have the lowest first dose and reservation rates. It really should be the other way around.”

For people over the age of 70, 71% of them have received at least one dose of the vaccine or have made an appointment, he said.

For those aged 60 to 69, the figure is 85%. For those 50 to 59 as well as 40 to 49, it is 86 percent, he said.

For those aged 30 to 39, the figure is 78%. For 20 to 29 year olds, it is 80% and 80% for 12 to 19 year olds.

Mr Ong, co-chair of the task force, said that in countries like the UK, US and Israel that have opened up, infections have also increased among young people.

This is because they are outside and less vaccinated, he said. “But hospitalizations and serious illnesses, quite stable, but especially among the old still.”

He said: “It’s not for the elderly to say ‘I’m not going out so I’m safe’.

“It’s not that at all, because these days when we look at our infections and cases, a lot of our infections have actually happened at home, so it’s not really a question of not going out. , when the company opens, your family members go and can take the virus home. “

The authorities will make a greater effort to reach out to the elderly, “knocking on their doors if necessary,” he said.

“This is the job we have to do, so any of us, if we know an elderly person, neighbor or relative, who is still hesitant, please help them contact them. and persuade her. “

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