30 per cent Covid fatalities in Singapore were fully jabbed

FULLY vaccinated individuals accounted for 30 per cent of Singapore's total Covid-19 related deaths last year, health minister Ong Ye Kung said in Parliament on Monday (10).

The minister said Singapore last year registered 802 deaths due to the coronavirus, out of which 247 were fully vaccinated people.

Most of the vaccinated individuals, who died from Covid-19 related complications, had received non-mRNA vaccines, according to crude incidence rates of deaths provided by Ong.

Ong provided the crude incidence rates based on the type of vaccination: 11 deaths per 100,000 were of those vaccinated with Sinovac, 7.8 per 100,000 with Sinopharm, 6.2 per 100,000 with Pfizer-BioNTech and 1 per 100,000 with Moderna.

"Be mindful, we are calculating this based on quite a small sample of 247 deaths… These rates are only indicative since they do not account for other factors which can affect mortality such as the age and timing of vaccination," Channel News Asia quoted Ong as saying in the House.

The remaining 555 people who died from Covid-19 last year were not fully vaccinated.

Although the unvaccinated people represent a "small proportion" of Singapore's population, those deaths accounted for 70 per cent of the total Covid-19 deaths last year, Ong said.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) has managed to vaccinate "well over 90 per cent" of every eligible age group over the past months, he said.

"We are especially happy to see that amongst seniors aged 60 to 69, and 70 and above, 96 per cent and 95 per cent have been fully vaccinated respectively," the minister said.

As for those aged 12 to 19 years old, 95 per cent are fully vaccinated, said the minister, adding that response has been "good" and operations have been "smooth" for vaccinations among younger children aged five to 11.

"At this time, only the Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty vaccine is authorised for use in ages below 18 years. We will continue to closely monitor the availability of other vaccines, including non-mRNA vaccines that are approved for use in children," Ong assured the House.

The current Covid-19 safe measures will only be tightened as a "last resort" when Singapore's healthcare system is under heavy strain, Ong said.

Citing Singapore's experience with the Delta wave last year, Ong said that even after it subsided, authorities had refrained from "being too jubilant" and over-relaxing restrictions.

"That would have been a mistake," he said.

(PTI)