MOM Says Most Unvaccinated Workers Are Medically Eligible to Take COVID-19 Vaccines

A study showed that in the United States, 44% of the employees would rather quit than get vaccinated. That’s almost half of the population.

Here in Singapore, our gahmen have not resorted to that drastic solution yet, but there are new measures for unvaccinated employees.

MOM Says Most Unvaccinated Workers Are Medically Eligible to Take COVID-19 Vaccines

Yesterday (23 Oct), it was announced that only fully vaccinated employees or have recovered from COVID-19 within the past 270 days can return to the workplace. This is effective from 1 Jan 2022 onwards.

This is because by next year, it is expected that most of the employees will return to the workplace more frequently so as to keep everyone safe, this new workplace measure is announced.

Would it cost a sudden change in Singapore workforce?

Well, it turns out that most of the unvaccinated employees are medically eligible to take COVID-19 vaccines.

As of 24 Oct, 84% of the population were fully vaccinated against COVID-19 while 85% has received at least one dose. What about the 15%?

Of the 15%, MOM says that about 113,000 of them are working people and 14,000 of them are above 60 years old.

Only a small proportion of these 113,000 employees are medically ineligible for vaccination.

That means 96% of the workforce had been vaccinated and 70% of the firms had all of their employees vaccinated.

Measures for Unvaccinated Employees

Unvaccinated employees are required to work from home (WFH) from 2022.

If the unvaccinated individuals are unable to work from home, they are required to test negative for COVID-19 before returning to the workplace.

And it’s not any free antigen rapid test (ART): they are required to pay for these tests if they do not have one. Plus, they have to get it done outside of working hours.

If that is not an option for these employees, employers can redeploy them to another role in the company that allows them to work from home.

If all of the above options are not available, employers can place them on no-pay leave or terminate their employment in accordance with their contract. However, this step should only be taken as a last resort step.

Do note, the termination would only be considered rightful if the worker is unable to perform their contracted work on-site, there are no other WFH roles in the company and they are unable to do the Pre-Event Testing (PET).

What About Those That Medically Ineligible for Vaccination?

Those that are medically ineligible for the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines can get vaccinated with the alternative vaccination – the Sinovac-CoronVac COVID-19 vaccine.

The good news is the Sinovac-CoronVac COVID-19 vaccine is now approved and included in the National Vaccination Programme (NVP)

Pregnant employees are encouraged to be vaccinated as well unless they are medically ineligible for the vaccines under the NVP.

However, these employees should consult their obstetrician first. Employers are encouraged to give special consideration to these employees.

Employers are also encouraged to give paid time off and additional paid sick leave to employees going for their vaccination shots. This includes booster shots as well.

If you are part of the 15% that’s not vaccinated, learn about the importance of vaccinations here:

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