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MOH rejects 'egregious and false claims' by People's Power Party about Covid-19 vaccines

SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Health (MOH) on Monday (June 3) rejected "egregious and false claims" cited by the People's Power Party, which had called for a suspension of Covid-19 vaccination.

Vials labelled "COVID-19 Coronavirus Vaccine" are placed on dry ice in this illustration taken, December 5, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/ File photo

Vials labelled "COVID-19 Coronavirus Vaccine" are placed on dry ice in this illustration taken, December 5, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/ File photo

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SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Health (MOH) on Monday (June 3) rejected "egregious and false claims" cited by the People's Power Party, which had called for a suspension of Covid-19 vaccination.

The opposition party's Facebook post on May 29 cited "studies and analyses by prominent medical experts", which claimed that Covid-19 vaccines caused high incidences of severe side effects.

It also attempted to draw associations between high vaccination rates and excess deaths, the ministry said in a media statement on Monday.

The People's Power Party claimed that Singapore has been experiencing "unusual and exceptionally high excess deaths" since 2021 when Covid-19 vaccination was introduced as compared to pre-vaccination years.

"It is more worrying that such high excess deaths situation is not unique to Singapore as other highly Covid-19-vaccinated countries and region are also encountering similar problems," said the opposition party in its Facebook post.

MOH said it categorically rejects these egregious and false claims, adding that people must "draw the right conclusions and follow the scientific evidence on the safety and effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines".

"The primary reason why Singapore recorded one of the lowest excess death rates in the world during the pandemic, is because the majority of Singaporeans took the vaccines," said MOH.

The ministry also said that contrary to the claims that vaccination has led to excess deaths, several studies have shown that that Covid-19 vaccination reduces the risk of death as compared to the unvaccinated during the period of the pandemic.

This includes countries that predominantly use the mRNA vaccines, it added.

“In fact, 19.8 million deaths from Covid-19 were prevented globally within the first 12 months that vaccines became available (from December 2020 to December 2021)”, said MOH.

The Health Ministry added that excess deaths in Singapore during the pandemic were attributable to deaths of people infected with Covid-19 or those with a recent infection. Of those who died, there was an "over-representation" of people who were not fully vaccinated.

The high level of vaccine protection in our society averted many Covid-related deaths, protected our healthcare system from being overwhelmed, and allowed us to preserve lives and livelihoods, said the ministry. 

“The normalcy in our daily lives today is in large part due to the protection that Covid-19 vaccines provide.”

MOH said that during Singapore’s previous JN.1 wave, the incidence rate of Covid-19 hospitalisations and ICU admissions among seniors aged 60 years and above who were not vaccinated was nearly double that of those who had kept their vaccination updated.

Several international and local studies conducted over other past waves also consistently showed the effectiveness of vaccination in preventing severe outcome of Covid-19 infection, especially among seniors, it added.

Vaccination and boosting also "mitigate the risk of developing long-term conditions after Covid-19 infection", it said. These include cardiovascular, cerebrovascular and thrombotic complications.

“This is why keeping up to date with additional vaccine doses is pertinent even as Covid-19 becomes endemic, much like vaccination against influenza and pneumococcus,” said the ministry.

“Covid-19 waves occur from time to time and can cause severe disease among those who are older or medically vulnerable.

"The vaccines will be able to protect individuals and prevent deaths."

RECOMMENDATIONS ON COVID-19 VACCINATION ARE 'EVIDENCE-BASED'

MOH said its recommendations on Covid-19 vaccination are evidence-based, adding that it will continue to monitor the safety and effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines and adjust its recommendations accordingly.

The long-term effects of Covid-19 infections, collectively known as Long Covid, can be much worse without the protection of vaccines, said the ministry. Patients could register heart, respiratory and other complications post-infection.

Singapore has been transparent in reporting the incidence of side effects of Covid-19 vaccination, said MOH.

There are side effects to any vaccination, noted the Health Ministry.

"Until July 2023 when the safety profiles of the vaccines have been reviewed to be consistent with no new safety signals, we reported this on a regular basis, which showed that most side effects were mild, and that the reporting rates of severe side effects remained rare at seven per 100,000 doses (0.007 per cent)."

Most recovered smoothly after rest and treatment, it added.

"In particular, we highlighted the relatively higher incidence of myocarditis amongst the young males, at about one in 100,000 doses (0.001 per cent)," said MOH.

The Health Ministry also cited data from the US showing that young men aged 18 to 29 had seven to eight times the risk of myocarditis/pericarditis after Covid-19 infection, compared to after Covid-19 vaccination.

This is supported by other studies, including a systematic review which reported similar findings that the risk of myocarditis is more than seven times higher in persons who had Covid-19 infections than in those who received the vaccine.

As such, the benefit of vaccination continues to outweigh the risk for all ages, said MOH.

“That is why international and national health authorities continue to recommend Covid-19 vaccination,” it added.

There is a very large body of scientific evidence that overwhelmingly shows that the protection from Covid-19 vaccines outweighs the side effects, said the ministry.

"Yet, several groups continue to spread misinformation, either by quoting scientific literature out of context or sharing materials from non-credible sources who cannot be held accountable, to cast doubts on the safety and effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines.

"At least the People’s Power Party has consolidated these reports, to give us the opportunity to rebut them at one go."

MOH noted that the list of scientific articles cited by the opposition party was mostly from the same group of authors, including some who have been reported to be promoting messages against Covid-19 vaccination.

“We urge the public to verify information found on the internet against authoritative sources,” said MOH. CNA

For more reports like this, visit cna.asia.

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Covid-19 Covid-19 vaccination

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