AIC engaged over 670,000 seniors on Covid-19 vaccination via visits, calls since Feb
SINGAPORE - Seniors who are keen on getting vaccinated but have difficulties doing so can seek help from the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC), as part of its efforts to protect the high-risk group against Covid-19. Since February, the agency's outreach arm for seniors, the Silver Generation Office (SGO), has engaged more than 670,000 seniors aged 60 and above on the safety of Covid-19 vaccination and supported those who need help in getting vaccinated. This is mainly done through door-to-door visits and phone calls. "Unvaccinated seniors are strongly encouraged to get a Covid-19 vaccine as Singapore transits towards a Covid-resilient nation," the AIC said in a release on Wednesday (Nov 17). "This will allow seniors to resume more activities safely, such as participating in activities for seniors or dining-in safely with their family and friends at hawker centres and coffee shops that are implementing vaccination-differentiated safe management measures." For seniors who have mobility issues or whose caregivers have difficulty taking them for their vaccination, the SGO can arrange for them to be escorted to a nearby vaccination centre, or to be vaccinated at home. After their vaccina...
Hougang day care centre opens makeshift store to engage seniors bored from staying at home amid Covid-19 surge
SINGAPORE - A makeshift store sits at a corner of the NTUC Health Day Centre for Seniors (Ci Yuan) in Hougang Avenue 9, for seniors who miss the shopping experience. The centre had set it up in April, after learning that some of the 60 seniors who visit it were bored from staying at home to remain safe amid the surge in Covid-19 cases here. Centre supervisor New Lay Yeow, 52, said: "The seniors may miss going out to buy things for their family during this period, so we came up with the idea of setting up a booth in the centre for them." Masks on, the seniors first take part in activities such as colouring and stretch band exercises, to keep them occupied. They are awarded a point for participating in each activity. These points can then be used to redeem items such as toilet rolls, biscuits, canned food, handicrafts made by the seniors, umbrellas and thermal bottles, for between 20 and 1,000 points. Centre manager Yang Zou Fang, 41, said: "To encourage our seniors to continue with centre activities and stay engaged during Covid-19, we also award them points when they come to the centre." The centre hopes to run the store once every month, from its current once every three months sc...
60 unvaccinated seniors get Covid-19 every day, six likely to end up in ICU
SINGAPORE - Each day, 60 unvaccinated seniors are getting infected from Covid-19, with six of them likely to need intensive care, Senior Minister of State for Health Janil Puthucheary told Parliament on Monday (Nov 1). He described how Covid-19 continues to affect the unvaccinated disproportionately, especially the elderly. Furthermore, the unvaccinated are more at risk of getting reinfected. Up till mid-August, there were 32 reinfection cases, and all of them were unvaccinated, said Dr Janil in a ministerial statement, in which he gave an update on the capacity of hospitals and intensive care units (ICUs) here. Unvaccinated seniors who have underlying medical conditions are at much greater risk of severe illness and death, he said. Close to 95 per cent of those who died in the last six months were those aged 60 and above, and 72 per cent of all deceased cases had not been fully vaccinated. Almost all of the remaining 26 per cent who were fully vaccinated suffered from underlying medical conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, and heart, lung or kidney diseases. As at Sunday, 407 people have died from Covid-19 here. "Underlying conditions add risks, even if the co...
Bedok residents spread vaccination message
SINGAPORE - Residents living in Bedok Reservoir know her as "Hua Jie", a cheery 54-year-old who turns up every Tuesday and Saturday afternoon to distribute free food and groceries. With the help of six to 10 volunteers, the co-owner of a tentage company has been providing free advice about the pandemic measures and vaccination programme since the onset of the pandemic in Singapore. "We will brief the residents on what the Government had announced recently," said Madam Sandy Goh Siew Hua, who is fluent in English and Mandarin. When needed, she speaks to the seniors in Cantonese, Teochew and Hokkien as well. "We will also tell them to go for the booster shot, and tell them where they can get it, such as at the nearby clinics. We will also help them make an appointment," added Madam Goh, whose nickname means Sister Hua. She and the volunteers have even accompanied the seniors to get their jab. She took the booster shot this month. Madam Goh and her group are currently assisting about 350 families living across 55 blocks in Bedok with food and groceries from private donors and welfare organisations like Willing Hearts and Food From The Heart. She stations herself at Block 702 before co...
Job portal for seniors, intergenerational cafe among ideas to improve ageing experience in S’pore
SINGAPORE - A specially tailored platform to help older people find meaningful employment could do the job to improve the ageing experience in Singapore. Other proposals made during a Citizens' Panel on Saturday (Oct 23) include a buddy system for senior workers, an intergenerational storytelling scheme and a cafe with a focus on intergenerational bonding. The panel was held by the health, manpower, and culture, community and youth ministries as part of the Ministerial Committee of Ageing's efforts to refresh the existing Action Plan on Successful Ageing that was launched in 2015. The committee wants to ensure the plan continues to be relevant to current and future senior citizens and address changes brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. Those aged 65 and above in Singapore make up 11.7 per cent of the population, according to mid-2021 estimates. Second Minister for Health Masagos Zulkifli attended the fourth and final panel session on Saturday, where nine projects along the themes of employment and volunteerism were presented. A total of 46 participants in the panel spent four weekends on the four sessions developing their ideas with input from senior citizens, industry experts ...
Publicity trucks to drive up Covid-19 vaccine awareness among seniors
SINGAPORE - In a bid to get more seniors to take the Covid-19 jabs, two trucks will go around heartland areas in the next few weeks to spread messages on vaccination, said the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) on Saturday (Aug 7). The #IGotMyShot trucks, which started making their rounds on Friday, will be deployed in the same areas as the Ministry of Health's (MOH) mobile vaccination teams, including Woodlands, Yishun, Bukit Merah, Hougang, Sengkang, Bedok, Tampines and Jurong West. They will broadcast prerecorded messages in the four official languages and selected dialects, and display posters, calling on unvaccinated seniors to get their shots with the mobile vaccination teams nearby. An emcee in each truck will provide more information, such as about the specific locations and operation hours of the teams. These efforts come amid a push to vaccinate more seniors, who are at higher risk of being infected by the coronavirus and becoming seriously ill. Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said on Friday that the 10 mobile vaccination teams deployed so far have vaccinated about 3,340 seniors aged above 60. The percentage of people aged 60 to 69 who have received at least one...
PM Lee Hsien Loong urges senior citizens not to delay Covid-19 vaccination
SINGAPORE - Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong urged seniors to get the Covid-19 vaccination and not wait until it is too late, addressing about 200,000 seniors aged 60 and above who have yet to receive their jabs. In a Facebook post on Saturday (July 24), PM Lee said seniors were at risk of Covid-19 even if they did not go out much as they could catch the virus from friends or family, adding that the disease is dangerous for older people. He said that Covid-19 is even more dangerous for seniors with other medical conditions such as diabetes or high blood pressure. "The vaccine will protect you from Covid-19. Some people may experience side effects, but these are mostly not serious," said PM Lee, 69, who completed his vaccination at Singapore General Hospital on Jan 29. "You may feel unwell for a day or two, but you will be okay. It is just your body building up its immunity against Covid-19," he said in a video recording about the safety of the vaccine. On Monday, it was reported that seniors aged 70 and above have a vaccine take-up rate of about 70 per cent. Seniors can walk in to any polyclinic or vaccination centre to get their jab without registration or booking beforehand, PM Lee...
‘I jaywalk because I’m fast enough’
Last Monday, around 11.30am, an elderly man on crutches slowly approached the road along Circuit Road Food Centre, looking to get to the bus stop opposite. He looked to his right, where a traffic light was about 50m away. He then looked to his left, where cars were turning into the road he was at. Despite that, the old man crossed slowly, unconcerned about approaching cars. The drivers did not honk at him and slowed down to give way. He made it across safely that day. But 15 senior pedestrians died last year, about half of them from jaywalking. Last Monday's scene played out several times at Circuit Road and Serangoon Avenue 3 when The Sunday Times was there to observe seniors' attitudes towards road safety. Some were also using crutches, pulling trolleys and holding the hands of young children as they jaywalked. At Circuit Road, The Sunday Times found more than 20 seniors jaywalking to get to the Block 79 and 79A Circuit Road Food Centre or to Housing Board blocks, between 11am and 12.30pm. Though there was a pedestrian crossing nearby and a sign prohibiting jaywalking, many seniors jaywalked across the three-lane road. There were also many parked vehicles along the road, which co...