At a time when our daily case count is in the hundreds, accelerating our vaccination rate is more crucial than ever.
With so many infections reported every day, more seniors in the community are bound to get infected.
And if they happened to be unvaccinated, as a large portion still is, they are more at risk of falling severely ill with the disease.
This is why several ministers, including PM Lee, has strongly encouraged residents in the older age groups to get their shots.
The situation is so critical that it has even compelled one retired politician from an opposition party to speak out.
WP Posts Video of Low Thia Khiang Urging Seniors to get Vaccinated in Teochew & Mandarin
Worker’s Party (WP) chief Pritam Singh and former secretary-general Low Thia Khiang have urged residents, especially seniors, to get vaccinated.
Yesterday (1 Aug), WP uploaded a video on Facebook with Singh and Low sharing their views on the importance of vaccination.
Singh spoke in Mandarin, while Low spoke in both Mandarin and Teochew.
As Low noted, Singapore is preparing to live with COVID-19 as a recurring, controllable disease, since eradication is most likely beyond our reach.
For this to happen, however, more people will have to get inoculated, he said.
While vaccinated individuals may still contract COVID-19, they are far less likely to suffer severe illness from the disease.
Conversely, unvaccinated people at more at risk of severe COVID-19, and could suffer complications as a result.
No Need to Get Vaccinated If You Stay at Home?
Low also addressed a common belief among some seniors; that there’s no need to get vaccinated if you mostly stay at home.
After all, if you don’t go out, you won’t get COVID-19, right?
Well, not quite.
As Low pointed out, even if you stay at home, you will still interact with family and friends and some point, especially if you live with them.
So, if you live with someone else, they could pass on the disease to you. Even if they happen to be vaccinated, they will likely not exhibit symptoms, which means you could get infected without knowing it.
The former WP chief added that while some seniors may feel they’re already old and don’t need a vaccine, suffering severe forms of the virus, which could require intensive care, would be an unpleasant experience.
As the health ministry has emphasised, the evidence shows that vaccines help prevent serious disease when infected with COVID-19.
Low ended the video by reminding residents that in getting vaccinated, they are not only protecting their own health, but that of their family’s too.
He praised those who have already gotten their shots, and encouraged more residents, especially seniors, to get vaccinated.
Here’s the full video:
Many netizens applauded Low for speaking about the importance of vaccination, with one commenter pointing out that seniors may listen to him, given that he’s of a similar age.
According to a previous post, Low got both doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine back in April.
Learn more about vaccination here:
Read Also:
- MOH Urges Unvaccinated Seniors to Stay Home As Much As Possible Due to Wet Market Cases
- Study Shows 2 Shots of Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine is ‘Highly Effective’ Against Delta Variant
Featured Image: Facebook (The Workers’ Party)