Ong Ye Kung: XBB Wave May Peak Even Earlier Than Expected

By
Chloe Tan
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Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said that the Ministry of Health’s estimate was “a bit more pessimistic”, and that the XBB wave might have already peaked and is already subsiding.

If you’re still unsure about what’s XBB, you can watch this video for two cute blue cats to explain this sub-variant to you:

Cases Already Going Down

Speaking to reporters at a community event in Sembawang GRC on 23 October, Mr Ong said that the cases have started to come down since last week.

If this downward trend continues, MOH’s estimate may have been more pessimistic, and that the XBB wave has already peaked. For reference, MOH initially estimated the XBB infection wave to peak by mid-November, but it seems like XBB decided to peak a month early.

Even if this current wave is subsiding, Mr Ong is still encouraging us all to take our vaccinations, in case yet another wave hits Singapore.

Mitigate Bed Crunch at Hospitals 

Replying to a question on the high number of patients in hospital emergency departments, Mr Ong said that these departments have experienced high patient volumes since the start of the year.

Currently, the wait for a bed is up to 50 hours.

However, the situation does get worse when there’s a COVID-19 wave, like the current XBB wave. Mr Ong noted that most of the patients are not COVID-19 patients, but since they do take up more ward space during a wave, there has been a lack of beds available.

To mitigate this situation, MOH is working with hospitals to ensure that there are enough resources and manpower to continue caring for patients well.

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Take The Bivalent Vaccines

The difference between the ordinary booster shots and the bivalent vaccine is that it will target both the original COVID-19 virus and the Omicron variant.

It therefore will provide better protection against the newer COVID-19 variants, and it is proven to be safe and effective.

The bivalent vaccines from Moderna/Spikevax were rolled out in Singapore on 14 October to those who have not yet achieved full protection, and to those above 50. These groups were prioritised due to their higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19.

Speaking in Parliament on 20 October, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung announced that the vaccines will be offered to those aged 18 to 49 later on in 2022.

And for those who prefer Pfizer over Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech’s bivalent Comirnaty vaccine should be available by end-2022.

Everyone who is eligible to take the bivalent vaccine is recommended to do so.

And yes, this includes people who have already gotten infected before, or have recently recovered from COVID-19. It is recommended for them to get the new bivalent vaccine three months after infection.

This is especially since the XBB strain is proving to be the most immune-evasive strain so far, and has a higher chance of infecting people who have already gotten infected before and are vaccinated.

You can find out more about where to get the vaccines here.

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Chloe Tan
Email: [email protected]