Coronavirus: Singaporeans who are unvaccinated by choice may face high medical bills
- According to a health ministry estimate, Covid-19 patients who need both care in ICUs and therapeutics in hospitals may have to pay about US$18,460
- The government has so far shielded residents and citizens from such medical costs throughout the pandemic by fully covering them
In general, Covid-19 patients who need both treatment in intensive care units and therapeutics in hospitals may have to pay about S$25,000 (US$18,460), according to a median estimate released by the health ministry on Thursday.
The government has so far shielded residents and citizens in the city state from such medical costs throughout the pandemic by fully covering them. But officials made the bold move to start charging Covid-19 patients who are unvaccinated by choice from December 8.
“Our hospitals really much prefer not to have to bill these patients at all, but we have to send this important signal, to urge everyone to get vaccinated if you are eligible,” health minister Ong Ye Kung said in a media briefing on Monday announcing the move.
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In a country where 85 per cent of the population are already fully inoculated, the government said unvaccinated Covid-19 patients make up a sizeable majority of those who need intensive inpatient care, and “disproportionately” strain its health care resources.
The health ministry said that means-tested government subsidies and a national health insurance plan can lower the fees to S$2,000 to S$4,000 for eligible Singaporeans in subsidised wards. Patients may also choose to tap a national medical savings scheme to further reduce this figure.
For people who get treatment in a Covid-19 treatment facility, they can expect to pay S$4,500 for a 7-day stay, the ministry added. For citizens, the co-payment is around S$1,000 after subsidies and tapping into the medical savings scheme.
“Depending on the severity of the patient’s condition and the type of Covid-19 facility where care is rendered, the bill size would vary,” the ministry said.
Indian vaccine has 77.8 per cent efficacy rate
Covaxin, which uses traditional, inactivated-virus technology, “induces a robust antibody response” two weeks after two doses are given, The Lancet said in a statement. No severe vaccine-related deaths or adverse events were recorded during a randomised trial involving 24,419 participants aged 18-97 years between November 2020 and May 2021 in India, the medical journal said.
The interim study, which was funded by Bharat Biotech and the Indian Council of Medical Research and partly wrote by officials at both bodies, is in line with the company’s earlier efficacy and safety announcements and may help end the controversy surrounding the shot’s early authorisation in January in India.
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India’s home-grown Covaxin coronavirus vaccine wins WHO approval
Yet during its analysis, the WHO independent technical body studying the vaccine repeatedly asked the company for further information, delaying its addition to the body’s pre-qualified list and causing frustration for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, which had championed the locally-developed shot.
Bharat Biotech’s chairman Krishna Ella had previously lashed out at those questioning Covaxin and this week told a conference that WHO approval took as long as it did due to criticism toward the vaccine, which hurt its image.
Further research will be needed to discover the vaccine’s long-term safety and effectiveness, as well as protection against severe disease, hospitalisation and death, along with its ability to fend off Delta and other variants of concern, according to The Lancet.
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Japan to secure Covid pills for 1.6 million people
The coronavirus response package, which was decided at a special task force meeting also includes a plan to increase the country’s hospitalisation capacity for Covid-19 patients by 30 per cent compared to the peak level during the fifth wave of infections this summer.
“By securing a medical system based on the worst-case scenario and enhancing early treatment, we will be able to continue our economic and social activities even if infections spread,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said at the meeting.
The government has already agreed with US pharmaceutical company Merck & Co. on the procurement of 1.6 million doses of molnupiravir, an orally administered drug that prevents the virus from entering or multiplying in the body.
The government plans to enable the drug to be delivered to patients’ home as well as provide up to 2 billion yen (US$17.5 million) for the development of oral medicines in Japan.
During the peak of the nation’s fifth wave of infections this summer, around 28,000 people needed to be hospitalised. Japan now plans to increase the capacity by the end of November to be able to accommodate about 37,000 people.
The government originally planned to boost the capacity by 20 per cent when it presented the outline of its policies in October, but it revised the target upward after reviewing prefectural data.
Philippines requires jabs for most workers
In areas where there are sufficient vaccine supplies, inoculation of eligible employees tasked to do on-site work shall be required by all establishments and employers, according to the statement.
Employees who remain unvaccinated may not be terminated but shall be required to undergo regular RT-PCR testing, or antigen tests, at their own expense.
Bars, pubs to remain closed in Thailand
A task force will be formed to prepare guidelines and standards for reopening of these venues, Taweesilp Visanuyothin, a spokesman for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, said at a briefing in Bangkok Friday.
Once they are deemed ready, they may be allowed to reopen from January 16 in popular tourist areas and those located outside the high-risk zones.
Reporting by Bloomberg, Kyodo
