Efficacy of Vaccinations against New COVID-19 Variants and Plans to Reduce Restrictions
Ministry of HealthSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns measures against the COVID-19 Omicron variant, its impact on group size and workplace restrictions, the frequency of booster shots, and data on deaths among vaccinated individuals. Members of Parliament Christopher de Souza, Dennis Tan Lip Fong, Ms Hazel Poa, and Dr Wan Rizal also inquired about vaccination-differentiated measures for children and hospital capacity during infection surges. Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung stated that the concerns raised in these written questions were addressed during the parliamentary session. He noted that the specific details were provided in his oral replies to Question Nos 1 to 12 on the Order Paper for 10 January 2022. This consolidated response addressed the government’s pandemic management protocols and the requested data regarding various vaccine brands.
Transcript
34 Mr Christopher de Souza asked the Minister for Health (a) what are the additional measures being taken in light of the COVID-19 Omicron variant; and (b) whether such measures will impact plans to reduce restrictions on group sizes for dining out and employees returning to the workplace.
35 Mr Christopher de Souza asked the Minister for Health in light of local and international data indicating that COVID-19 booster shots provide some protection against new COVID-19 variants and the increasing possibility of new variants that are highly transmissible appearing every few months, whether all persons will be encouraged to take booster shots every six months.
36 Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong asked the Minister for Health with regard to the number of deaths in Singapore due to COVID-19 in 2021 (a) how many were fully vaccinated at the time of infection; and (b) of the deceased who were fully vaccinated, what is the breakdown in numbers of those who received vaccines from (i) Pfizer-BioNTech, (ii) Moderna, (iii) Sinovac, (iv) Sinopharm and (v) other vaccines to be specified.
37 Ms Hazel Poa asked the Minister for Health whether vaccination-differentiated measures will be imposed on children.
38 Dr Wan Rizal asked the Minister for Health (a) whether hospitals will be able to cope with the possible surge of infections due to the emergence of the COVID-19 Omicron variant; and (b) what are the measures and steps taken to ensure that processes and protocols remain efficient.
Mr Ong Ye Kung: These questions for written answers have been addressed by oral reply to Question Nos 1 to 12 on the Order Paper for 10 January 2022.