At this point, if you’re still voluntarily unvaccinated against COVID-19, there are quite a few things you can’t do, including entering vaccination-controlled premises (e.g shopping malls) even if you obtained a negative pre-event test result in the last 24 hours.
And from 15 Jan, voluntarily unvaccinated employees won’t be able to return to the workplace.
At the moment, there are around 52,000 employees in Singapore who have yet to receive their COVID-19 jabs.
Watch this video to the end to know more about this:
And though the authorities explained that these measures are in place to protect the unvaccinated, one such employee isn’t convinced.
Former S’pore Tennis Player Said As She’s Barred from Entering Her Tennis School Due to Her Vaccination Status
A former Singapore tennis player has started a petition to “re-calibrate” the Vaccination-Differentiated Safe Management Measures (VDS) in a bid to “protect the unvaccinated from losing jobs”.
The petition, which is addressed to Manpower Minister Tan See Leng and Health Minister Ong Ye Kung, has already hit the target of 2,500 signatures.
It was drafted by Jamie Wong, a tennis coach who has chosen not to get vaccinated.
“Tennis has been my life. I grew up playing tennis and began representing Singapore at the age of 13. I started a tennis school in 2010 and coaching tennis has been my full time profession. But from Jan 15, 2022, I will not be able to enter my tennis school nor step onto a tennis court,” she said.
And since working from home is not exactly an option for a tennis coach, Ms Wong is distraught.
Anticipating questions about her choice not to get vaccinated, Ms Wong explained that she suffers from an autoimmune disorder and has been advised by some doctors and friends not to take the mRNA vaccines but to consider Sinovac/Sinopharm instead.
“I have considered. While the risks are low, there are still risks. I simply do not know how my body may react to a vaccine so I am uncomfortable to vaccinated,” she wrote.
“I understand that some people may disagree with my reasons but nonetheless, these are my reasons. I feel they are valid. And in my view, every person has his or her own reasons for choosing “to vaccinate” or “not to vaccinate” and while one may disagree with another’s reasons, a person’s decision should be respected.”
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Pressured Into Getting Jabbed
Ms Wong said she’s been thankful and supportive of the Singapore government’s pandemic response, and said she’s willingly complied with all other VDS measures.
This includes “no malls, no dine-in… twice a week ART tests to go to work, etc. But I simply cannot understand the rationale for barring me from my workplace,” she said.
While the health ministry said this measure will help protect unvaccinated individuals, Ms Wong questioned if it was actually meant to “coerce the unvaccinated” into vaccination.
To support her claim, she quoted an earlier statement by the health ministry in which it said: “We are taking a stronger stance against those who choose not to be vaccinated, be it through the VDS, or by requiring them to pay for their medical bills.”
The ministry added, however, that those who are medically ineligible for all COVID-19 vaccines under the National Vaccination Programme (NVP) will be exempted from the VDS.
Nevertheless, Ms Wong feels that the measures are unfair, and called upon others to sign the petition so the authorities will “REMOVE or RE-CALIBRATE the latest VDS measures and protect unvaccinated individuals from losing their jobs.”
Ms Wong, now 40, became the first Singaporean to be inducted into Georgia Institute of Technology’s Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016. At the time, she was only the second women’s tennis player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in Georgia Tech’s 130-year sporting history.
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Featured Image: ESB Professional / Shutterstock.com & Change.org