Singapore — Infectious disease specialist and Singapore Democratic Party chairman Paul Tambyah said last week that the recent surge in cases is “a little concerning.”
Every day since Sept 28, Singapore has seen over 2,000 new Covid-19 cases, with 2,909 being the highest number of cases, recorded on Oct 1.
The vast majority of those cases are mild or asymptomatic, and most new Covid patients have qualified for the Home Recovery programme, which was established in mid-September.
However, Singapore’s fatality rate has also grown. A total of 113 people have died in Singapore since the pandemic began early last year, with dozens of deaths occurring just last month.
Many of the deaths have been among senior citizens, arguably the most vulnerable group in this pandemic.
Dr Tambyah, the president of the US-based International Society of Infectious Diseases, was asked by Yahoo News Singapore about the Ministry of Health’s programme to administer booster shots to Singapore’s senior citizens, even before the suggested six-month interval from their last Covid vaccine shot.
MOH has been inviting non-immunocompromised seniors to have their third jab administered, even five months after their last shot.
The ministry told Yahoo that there ”are no concerns if an individual takes the booster dose slightly earlier than six months,” and that “individuals eligible to receive booster doses can expect to receive an SMS invite from around five months after their second dose, to provide some lead time for individuals to make an appointment.”
Dr Tambyah told Yahoo that the surge in cases is the rationale behind administering the booster shot to seniors now.
“The numbers are a little concerning so perhaps they (MOH) want the immunity of the seniors boosted even before the data are available,” Yahoo quotes him as saying.
He added that there is still a lack of scientific data concerning the booster shot, but nevertheless called administering the third jab even before six months from the second one “reasonable.”
Last week, Dr Tambyah posted an excerpt SDP’s “Sensible and Foresighted Plan to Exit the Covid Pandemic,” wherein the SDP was critical of the government’s management of the Covid pandemic, saying it has made life difficult for Singaporeans.
He included the following:
“The handling of the Covid-19 pandemic by the Government’s Multi-Ministerial Task Force has been plagued with a distinct lack of coherence and direction. This has left Singaporeans confused and frustrated.
The lack of a clear strategy in dealing with the pandemic has also left businesses unable to plan ahead. The reactive nature of the MMTF’s approach in dealing with outbreaks of infections has led to stop-start, on-again/off-again policies which had impacted adversely on both employers and employees.”
SDP also held a question-and-answer portion on Facebook live, wherein Dr Tambyah said, “We felt that we needed a sensible plan that actually showed a way out.”
Dr Tambyah is part of SDP’s healthcare panel of ten medical professionals who drafted the eight-point plan. /TISG
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Paul Tambyah: We need ‘a sensible plan that actually shows a way out’ of pandemic