SINGAPORE: Appointments will now be needed for individuals who wish to receive their COVID-19 vaccinations at polyclinics, as daily average acute respiratory infection (ARI) attendances from both COVID-19 and other infections have increased significantly over the past two weeks.
Only seniors aged 80 years and above can continue to walk in to receive their vaccinations at the polyclinics.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) announced this in a press release on Friday (Jul 22), as it urged eligible individuals to instead go to any of the 10 Joint Testing and Vaccination Centres (JTVCs) located across Singapore for their vaccinations.
Appointments are not needed at these centres, said MOH.
The ministry added that over the past two weeks, adult emergency departments at public hospitals handled on average about 2,500 attendances a day, compared to the usual average load of about 2,000 attendances daily, MOH said.
Across the children’s emergency departments at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital and National University Hospital, there were on average about 680 attendances a day over the last two weeks, up from the usual average load of about 450 attendances a day.
Of these emergency department attendances, about 40 per cent did not require emergency care.
"Such cases at the emergency departments divert medical care away from patients who genuinely require emergency medical attention," said MOH.
"As such, we would like to remind the public to only seek medical treatment at hospital emergency departments for serious or life-threatening emergencies, such as chest pain, breathlessness and uncontrollable bleeding.
"This allows those with severe illness in need of emergency care to be attended to quickly and helps to preserve our hospital capacity for those who truly need acute hospital care."
The ministry acknowledged that higher loads and longer wait times at the emergency departments and polyclinics may frustrate some patients and families, but reminded members of the public to treat healthcare workers with respect and not to harass or abuse them.
"Our healthcare workers continue to work very hard to ensure that patients receive the medical care they need," said MOH.
MOH also noted that the Novavax/Nuvaxovid vaccine will be offered at Jurong Polyclinic and Yishun Polyclinic from Aug 12.
The two polyclinics currently offer Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty vaccinations to individuals looking to get their second dose or booster shots, and will continue to do so until Aug 5.
Eligible individuals who wish to receive the Novavax/Nuvaxovid vaccine may also continue to do so at the JTVC in Bishan as well as 20 Public Health Preparedness Clinics.
"We encourage everyone to take their vaccination and boosters as soon as they become eligible, to stay protected from severe COVID-19 infection," said MOH.
Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram
Continue reading...
Only seniors aged 80 years and above can continue to walk in to receive their vaccinations at the polyclinics.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) announced this in a press release on Friday (Jul 22), as it urged eligible individuals to instead go to any of the 10 Joint Testing and Vaccination Centres (JTVCs) located across Singapore for their vaccinations.
Appointments are not needed at these centres, said MOH.
The ministry added that over the past two weeks, adult emergency departments at public hospitals handled on average about 2,500 attendances a day, compared to the usual average load of about 2,000 attendances daily, MOH said.
Across the children’s emergency departments at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital and National University Hospital, there were on average about 680 attendances a day over the last two weeks, up from the usual average load of about 450 attendances a day.
Of these emergency department attendances, about 40 per cent did not require emergency care.
"Such cases at the emergency departments divert medical care away from patients who genuinely require emergency medical attention," said MOH.
"As such, we would like to remind the public to only seek medical treatment at hospital emergency departments for serious or life-threatening emergencies, such as chest pain, breathlessness and uncontrollable bleeding.
"This allows those with severe illness in need of emergency care to be attended to quickly and helps to preserve our hospital capacity for those who truly need acute hospital care."
The ministry acknowledged that higher loads and longer wait times at the emergency departments and polyclinics may frustrate some patients and families, but reminded members of the public to treat healthcare workers with respect and not to harass or abuse them.
"Our healthcare workers continue to work very hard to ensure that patients receive the medical care they need," said MOH.
Related:
NOVAVAX AT JURONG, YISHUN POLYCLINICS
MOH also noted that the Novavax/Nuvaxovid vaccine will be offered at Jurong Polyclinic and Yishun Polyclinic from Aug 12.
The two polyclinics currently offer Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty vaccinations to individuals looking to get their second dose or booster shots, and will continue to do so until Aug 5.
Eligible individuals who wish to receive the Novavax/Nuvaxovid vaccine may also continue to do so at the JTVC in Bishan as well as 20 Public Health Preparedness Clinics.
"We encourage everyone to take their vaccination and boosters as soon as they become eligible, to stay protected from severe COVID-19 infection," said MOH.
BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic and its developments
Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram
Continue reading...