World News | Singapore to Vaccinate Short-term Pass Holders as Part of COVID-19 Safety Measures

Singapore, Aug 18 (PTI) Singapore will vaccinate short-term pass holders, who have been in the country for an extended period of time, against COVID-19 under the national vaccination programme to check the spread of the deadly virus, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Wednesday.

The ministry is extending the vaccination programme to holders of short-term work passes and special passes, such as those on training employment passes, training work permits and work holiday passes.

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“Although their stay in Singapore is temporary, vaccinating this group would further strengthen the resilience of our society against COVID-19,” the MOH said.

While vaccination is free for eligible short-term pass holders, they will not qualify for the Vaccine Injury Financial Assistance Programme for COVID-19 Vaccination, the ministry said.

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Eligible short-term visit pass holders who have been in the country for 60 days continuously can also get the jabs. Many of them are unable to return home because of global travel restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, it said.

Age-eligible holders of short-term work passes and special passes can walk in to any vaccination centre to get their first jab without a prior appointment. But they will not be able to walk in to polyclinics or participating Public Health Preparedness Clinics for their vaccination, the MOH said.

“Any medical bills incurred by them following the vaccination appointment will also be subject to the prevailing charging policies,” the ministry added.

All eligible short-term pass holders will be able to view their vaccination status on the TraceTogether app from late-September.

About 40,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses are currently being administered daily in Singapore, down from a peak of 80,000, the MOH said.

As of Monday, 76 per cent of Singapore's population has received their full COVID-19 vaccination regimen, with 82 per cent having received at least one dose.

On Wednesday, Singapore reported 53 COVID-19 infections, four of which were imported. This took the total infections to 66,334 infections since the disease broke out in the country. To date, 45 people have died due to COVID-19 complications.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)