S’pore Also Sees A Surge in Demand for Flu Vaccine Following Barbie Hsu’s Passing

By
Loh Huey Xin
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The whole “get vaccinated” era is over now that COVID-19 is no longer a pandemic for two years and counting.

Or so we thought.

As the cause of Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu’s death – influenza-related pneumonia, came to light, clinics in Taiwan and Hong Kong saw an exponential increase in demand for flu vaccines.

It is no surprise that Singapore too, is entering this era once again.

To know more about influenza-related pneumonia, watch this to the end:

The Surge in Singapore

According to the Ministry of Health (MOH), over 2,000 people in Singapore made appointments to get the influenza vaccine on 4 Feb, which is a day after the tragic announcement on 3 Feb of Barbie Hsu’s death.

To give you a gauge of how drastic the surge in demand for vaccinations is, there were 3,000 online appointments made via the Health Appointment System throughout January.

3,000 in one month versus 2,000 in one singular day. That is almost like having a 2000 per cent increase in demand per day!

As we have learnt in our economics lessons, a drastic increase in demand as such leads to a shortage as the quantity demanded of vaccines is greater than the quantity supplied blah blah blah (economics was never my cup of tea).

Well, the good news is MOH has assured the public that Singapore has sufficient stock of the influenza vaccine despite the surge in demand. There are also arrangements in place for public healthcare institutions and general practitioners (GPs) to acquire additional supplies should the demand increase further.

Several clinics in Singapore mentioned they received many inquiries as well as a few walk-in patients on the very day of Barbie Hsu’s death announcement.

Healthway Medical Group said some of its clinics saw 50 per cent more people getting the influenza vaccine on Feb 3 and 4 in comparison to a typical Monday and Tuesday in January.

In the week after Hsu’s passing, Raffles Medical Group observed a 20 per cent increase in flu vaccination demand across its network of more than 40 family medicine clinics.

Dr Daniel Soong from Unihealth said about 10 to 12 people received the flu jab at each of its three clinics from Feb 3 to 5, with most patients in their 30s to 40s. Previously, they only administered seven to eight vaccinations at each clinic per week.

In contrast with the zero requests for flu jabs in the week before Hsu’s death, Dtap Clinic has seen six appointments for flu jabs from Feb 3 to 6. Dr Jonathan Ti of Dtap Clinic said young and healthy patients planning to travel to Japan have also been requesting the flu vaccine in the past week, seemingly as an extra precautionary measure.

His clinics do not usually receive many inquiries about the flu jab in February, as most people opt to take the jab in November and December before their holidays.

Dr Zhang Qi of Kingsway Medical Clinic also said there was an “immediate surge after the news broke” as he has been giving three to four flu shots per day – his usual weekly number.

Doctor Anywhere, a telehealth company, saw a more than 20 per cent increase in flu vaccine inquiries in the two days after Hsu’s death, across its eight physical clinics (yes, they do have physical clinics, too) and home-based flu vaccination service.

Now that all these statistics have succeeded in catalysing your kiasuness, do peruse the following section before you rush down to your nearest clinic.

What Should We Do?

The MOH recommended that individuals at higher risk of developing severe influenza infections, such as seniors and those with underlying medical conditions, consult their doctors and receive their influenza vaccinations.

Those who want to book their influenza vaccination appointments can do so at https://vaccine.gov.sg/flu or with participating retail pharmacies. You can also find out more about the costs of vaccinations on Healthhub.

The flu vaccination is recommended annually or twice a year, as the circulating flu viruses change and the body’s immunity to the virus may decrease over time. Everyone above six months old is eligible for the flu vaccine.

Costs of The Vaccination

Of course, how can we not talk about the money? Lucky for us, many individuals are eligible for flu vaccine subsidies.

Free money from the government: who don’t like?

For Singapore Citizens enrolled with HealthierSG:

  • individuals aged 65 years old and above
  • OR individuals with certain medical conditions that make them more vulnerable to the flu

are able to receive fully subsidised vaccinations, in other words, for $0.

For Singapore Citizens not enrolled with HealthierSG, individuals will be able to receive the vaccination at CHAS GP clinics for:

  • Pioneer Generation card holders – $9
  • Merdeka Generation card holders (after 65th birthday) – $18
  • CHAS blue/orange card holders with certain medical conditions – $18
  • CHAS green/non-CHAS card holders with certain medical conditions – $35
  • 6-59 months old – $0 (at polyclinics as well)

For other Singapore Citizens with no particular medical conditions: the price of the vaccine will vary from clinic to clinic.

For Permanent Residents:

  • subsidies will only be available for the recommended age group or those with certain medical conditions at polyclinics

Medisave can be used to cover an out-of-pocket expenses for the flu vaccine.

For more information, you can visit the official Ministry of Health website here.

If you watch at least 10 minutes of brain rot content daily, you must know this:

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Loh Huey Xin