Singapore — Around 52,000 employees in Singapore have not received a dose of any Covid-19 vaccine, said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on Monday (Dec 27), despite only a small proportion of these workers being medically ineligible for vaccination.
According to MOM, two per cent of the workforce, excluding self-employed individuals, are unvaccinated. Around 6,700 are aged 60 years old and above, hence at a very high risk of severe illness or death from Covid-19.
“Unvaccinated employees, especially those who are older, will put immense strain on our healthcare capacity in the coming months if they contract Covid-19,” said MOM in a press release.
In response to the emergence of the Omicron Covid-19 variant, authorities have enhanced safe management measures, such as barring unvaccinated employees from returning to the workplace.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) announced that beginning Jan 15, 2022, even negative pre-event testing would not allow unvaccinated individuals to return to the workplace.
Those partially vaccinated will be given until Jan 31 to complete the vaccination regimen.
This update came in the wake of MOH’s announcement that 50 per cent of employees who can work from home will be allowed to return to the office from Jan 1, 2022.
Workplace arrangements for the unvaccinated
For employees who remain unvaccinated due to medical reasons, MOM noted they would be permitted to continue working from home if the setup can sufficiently meet operational and business needs.
Special consideration will be given to those medically ineligible for vaccines, such as being allowed to work from home, with their absence not affecting assessment or performance.
“However, as the vast majority of vaccinated employees eventually return to the workplace more frequently, the prolonged absence of the unvaccinated employees… may affect their individual performance as well as negatively impact team or organisational performance,” MOM said.
After Jan 15, workers who need to be on-site but are unvaccinated may be redeployed to suitable roles in a work from home setup.
They can also be placed on no-pay leave or terminated with notice as a last resort, said MOM previously.
The termination would not be considered wrongful dismissal due to the employee’s inability to perform their duties.
“By not coming to the workplace, unvaccinated employees are protected from being exposed to the threat of the virus,” MOM noted.
“There is a small minority of unvaccinated employees who are doctor-certified to be medically ineligible for mRNA Covid-19 vaccines,” said MOM.
As Sinovac was recently included in the National Vaccination Programme (NVP), following the Health Sciences Authority’s authorisation under the Pandemic Special Access Route (PSAR), many unvaccinated employees can opt for this vaccine.
“The tripartite partners urge the remaining 20 per cent of employers to make a concerted push to get their unvaccinated employees to be vaccinated as soon as possible,” added MOM.
The tripartite partners consist of MOM, the National Trades Union Congress and the Singapore National Employers Federation.
Medical reasons for vaccine exemption
According to the World Health Organization, those with a history of severe allergic reactions or anaphylaxis to any of the ingredients of the Covid-19 vaccine is a medical reason for being exempted from vaccination.
MOM also listed the conditions for being medically ineligible for all Covid-19 vaccines under NVP. Only the following individuals will be certified as medically ineligible for vaccination:
- Persons aged 18 years and above who were unable to complete their vaccination regime due to allergies or previous severe adverse reaction to all NVP vaccines, namely the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Sinovac vaccines.
- Persons below 18 years of age and unable to complete the vaccination regime due to allergies or a severe reaction to a previous dose of a PSAR-authorised mRNA Covid-19 vaccine, and unable to take the SinovacCoronaVac vaccine.
- Persons with or under conditions or treatments such as a transplant with the last three months, aggressive immunotherapy or active cancer on treatment. /TISG
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