One thing many of us forget about the two COVID-19 vaccines in use here is that while it did exceptionally well in clinical trials, it wasn’t perfect.
Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine, for example, has an efficacy rate of 95%, which means that out of every 100 recipients, 5 may not get protection against COVID-19.
Still, this is a much higher efficacy rate than experts were predicting.
So, if some vaccinated individuals get infected with COVID-19, it doesn’t mean the vaccines are ineffective.
And this is the point our new Finance Minister is trying to make.
Lawrence Wong Responds to Reactions That Vaccines Don’t Work; Said That ‘Vaccinations Do Work’
Mr Lawrence Wong, the face of our fight against COVID-19, wants you to take a chill pill.
After the public received the news that four of the five COVID-19 cases working at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) had already been vaccinated, some started to panic and lose faith in these vaccinations.
Aiyah, if those vaccinated are still getting infected, then what’s the point of taking a vaccine?
This kind of thinking, Mr Wong said, is a “big mistake”.
“That would be disastrous because the vaccinations do work,” he said, adding that they reduce transmission and prevent people from the risk of severe disease.
He said that while vaccines are not foolproof, they will help to reduce the overall spread in the community.
“Breakthrough Infections” Not Indication of Vaccine Effectiveness
Mr Wong said that the authorities already knew that breakthrough infections – infections of vaccinated individuals – could happen.
But this shouldn’t stop people from getting vaccinated.
“We should not overreact to the news of breakthrough infections, or worse, make the biggest mistake, which is to say that, ‘Oh, vaccinations don’t work, and therefore, maybe there is no need for a vaccine’.”
Expert: Vaccination Provides Protection For Majority of Recipients
The Ministry of Health’s (MOH) director of medical services, Associate Professor Kenneth Mak, agreed with Mr Wong, saying vaccines will protect the majority of recipients from COVID-19.
“As illustrated by this (TTSH) cluster, vaccination doesn’t provide 100 per cent protection, but it increases your resistance to getting symptomatic infection, it reduces the risk of you getting an infection and spreading that.”
Investigations are ongoing to determine if those in the TTSH cluster were properly vaccinated.
The authorities are also carrying out phylogenetic tests to assess if any of the infections in the TTSH cluster are due to viral variants of concern.
No issues with vaccine quality or the cold chain supply of vaccines at the vaccination centres have been found so far, Prof Mak said.
Featured Image: YouTube (Gov.sg)
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