The 83 deaths linked to Covid-19 so far in 2024 is much lower than the 317 deaths in 2023 and the 860 in 2022. - PHOTO: ST FILE
SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/ANN): Seniors aged 60 years and older, and those who are medically vulnerable, should get a booster vaccination against Covid-19 to protect themselves against serious illness and death.
This call from the Ministry of Health (MOH) comes in the light of the 83 people who have died from the infectious disease in 2024.
Of them, 78 were over the age of 60, four were aged 50 to 59, and one was 16 years or younger.
MOH said all four adults in their 50s who died had other medical problems, and three had not received a booster shot within the past year.
The vaccination status of the fourth adult, a foreigner visiting Singapore, is not known.
The young person who died had other medical problems and had “no history of Covid-19 vaccination”.
The 83 deaths linked to Covid-19 so far in 2024 are much lower than the 317 deaths in 2023 and the 860 in 2022.
An MOH spokesman said that in general, the Covid-19 situation here has been stable, in spite of the year-end travel season. The peak of around 26,000 cases a week occurred in May, when there was a wave of cases caused by the KP.1/2 variant.
But he added: “Our concern continues to be with severe cases, which tend to be seniors.”
In the first 11 months of the year, 108 people needed intensive care for Covid-19 infection. Of them, 80 per cent were seniors aged 60 and above, he said.
The most prevalent Covid-19 strain circulating in Singapore today is the MV.1, which accounts for more than a third of cases that have been sequenced.
This strain is a descendent of JN.1 – the target of the current Covid-19 vaccine MOH rolled out on Oct 28. Given the relationship between the two strains, the vaccine is able to “provide protection against the MV.1 descendant”.
The spokesman said: “Based on international data, antibody levels against recent variants increased by more than tenfold with the updated JN.1 vaccine. Similar enhancement in the antibody levels is expected for the MV.1 strain, which is genetically related to the JN.1 variant.”
More than 35,000 people have received the latest vaccine, of whom 60 per cent are seniors. About 410,000 people have been vaccinated against Covid-19 in 2024. Prior to Oct 28, 2024, the vaccine given was targeted at the XBB.1.5 strain.
MOH said both the XBB.1.5 and the JN.1 vaccines can enhance protection against the MV.1 subvariant, but the JN.1 vaccine is likely to provide better protection. This is because recently circulating strains, such as MV.1, are more genetically related and similar to JN.1 than XBB.1.5.
The spokesman added: “Currently, there is no indication that the MV.1 is more transmissible or causes more severe disease compared with previously identified variants.”
The Covid-19 vaccine remains free and is available at polyclinics and about 500 general practitioner clinics.
Experts recommend that those who are vulnerable get the vaccine booster shot.
Professor Ooi Eng Eong, an expert in emerging diseases at the Duke-NUS Medical School, recommends revaccination “for the elderly and those with chronic diseases where any infection could tip the scale for the worse”.
Professor Dale Fisher, a senior infectious diseases consultant at the National University Hospital, said people might want to get a booster before travelling. He took a booster shot before a trip to Europe this winter.
He added: “I got vaccinated two weeks before I left to protect against my increased vulnerability as a traveller and to minimise the chances of wrecking my trip. No illness after two weeks on the road.”
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong tested positive for Covid-19 earlier in December, his first brush with the disease. While he was feeling fine, he self-isolated, which is what MOH recommends, to prevent the spread of the disease.
MOH says people with Covid-19 who need to go out should wear a mask and minimise social interactions. - The Straits Times/ANN
