ST Forum Letter Suggests Disallowing Unvaccinated People From Entering Public Spaces
Increasing the vaccination take-up rate is a primary goal of the Singapore government as we look to enter a ‘new normal’ and live with an endemic Covid-19.
On that note, The Straits Times (ST) published a forum letter by a doctor who proposed methods for increasing the take-up rate.
Some of the suggestions are radical, to say the least.
They include lotteries with monetary incentives and preventing unvaccinated people from entering public spaces.
Create lotteries to increase vaccine take-up
In the ST Forum letter written by Dr Chua Tee Lian and published on Monday (5 Jul), he suggested some methods to get more people to vaccinate.
This can be through lottery prizes, which he says are already being done in “some countries”. Locally, Singapore could consider:
- A top-up to Central Provident Fund (CPF) accounts
- Small token sum into a personal account
- Grocery voucher
A top-up to CPF may or may not be a good incentive.
While Dr Chua has suggested offering monetary rewards, he notes that this is solely to get as many as possible to get jabbed.
This is not encouraging people to demand a reward before doing the right thing, he emphasises.
Restrict public access for unvaccinated
Dr Chua further argues that to incentivise vaccinations more, restrictions may be a more drastic step.
Restricting unvaccinated people from public places is another suggestion he put up.
He argued that verifying whether someone is vaccinated is more useful than checking their temperature, especially in enclosed spaces like malls and restaurants.
Another suggestion is by using the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) to prevent fake news from spreading regarding vaccines.
Vaccination must be the priority
These suggestions sound drastic, but Dr Chua doesn’t mince his words when he says vaccination must be the priority.
Unless we want to stay under draconian public health restrictions for a protracted foreseeable future, the vaccination roll-out, which is far from accomplishing its mission, must be accelerated.
It comes from his frustration as a healthcare professional at seeing people who are too reluctant to get vaccinated despite persuasion.
Hope for more vaccination
While getting vaccinated can give us a better chance at returning to a sense of normalcy, that is but an incentive.
Ultimately, we want to get back to reopening the economy, protect more of the population, and reduce hospital loads.
A year and a half on, pandemic fatigue is real, and increasing vaccinations are the best way at the moment to get out of being controlled by the virus.
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