Impact on Social Cohesion Caused by Differentiated Treatment for Vaccinated and Unvaccinated Residents
Ministry of HealthSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the impact of differentiated treatment for vaccinated and unvaccinated residents on social cohesion, as raised by Mr Lim Biow Chuan. Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung stated that the pandemic has unified Singaporeans, who achieved high vaccination rates through measures like mobile and home vaccination teams. He clarified that differentiated measures are public health precautions designed to protect unvaccinated individuals from severe illness as social and economic activities resume. These individuals remain eligible for high-risk activities through pre-event testing, and the Minister noted that such measures could be removed upon reaching high vaccination levels. He stressed that these policies must be framed as protective health measures rather than discriminatory actions to maintain community unity.
Transcript
69 Mr Lim Biow Chuan asked the Minister for Health (a) whether the differentiated treatment between vaccinated and unvaccinated residents will cause Singaporeans to be divided; and (b) how can the Government encourage more residents to be vaccinated without dividing the community.
Mr Ong Ye Kung: Our assessment is that COVID-19 has brought Singaporeans together to fight the pandemic. The great majority of Singaporeans have observed safe management measures, donned masks, maintained higher standards of personal hygiene and took their vaccinations.
We are now one of the most highly-vaccinated countries in the world, partly due to the various measures we have taken, including setting up mobile vaccination teams, home vaccination teams and enabling walk-in vaccinations.
However, for various reasons, there remains a minority of individuals who are unvaccinated. As we transit into a COVID-19-resilient nation, more economic and social activities will resume, which means these individuals are at higher risk of being exposed to the virus and falling severely ill. Hence, it will be more prudent for them not to take part in higher risk activities, such as big events and dining in restaurants in the company of other persons. However, if they really wish to, they can take a pre-event test before participating in these higher-risk activities.
For now, the differentiated measures are necessary to keep unvaccinated individuals and vulnerable people in our community safe. As we achieve a very high level of vaccination, reaching or approximating herd immunity, it is possible to remove the differentiated measures.
In the meantime, it is important to continue to explain that these are public health measures to protect unvaccinated individuals and not let the policy be mistaken or misrepresented as discriminatory.