Addressing vaccine hesitancy by tackling misinformation

With support from the Rotary Club of Singapore (RCS), the School organised a virtual public forum on 5 June 2021 to address COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, titled ‘Why Hesitate? All You Want to Know about the COVID-19 Vaccination’.

In view of circulating misinformation and recent community transmission, including among fully vaccinated individuals, the forum aimed to answer questions from the public around the COVID-19 vaccines.

The event saw over 300 attendees and was graced by guest-of-honour Ms Low Yen Ling, Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth & Trade and Industry.

Ms Low Yen Ling, Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth & Trade and Industry.
Guest-of-honour, Ms Low Yen Ling, Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth & Trade and Industry

Ms Low highlighted the importance of combating misinformation, saying that such events can help the public be more accurately and adequately informed about vaccination.

“Wrong and misleading information sows suspicion and confusion, and prevents people from protecting themselves and their loved ones from infection,” she said.

One way we can do our part in the fight against COVID is in stemming the spread of misinformation. It is important for us to ensure that our information comes from trusted and legitimate sources and make the effort to verify before sharing them.

– Ms Low Yen Ling, Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth & Trade and Industry

From top left, clockwise: Asst Prof Hannah Clapham, Assoc Prof Hsu Li Yang, Assoc Prof Steven Ooi, and Dr Chan Siew Luen from RCS who moderated the discussion
From top left, clockwise: Asst Prof Hannah Clapham, Assoc Prof Hsu Li Yang, Assoc Prof Steven Ooi, and Dr Chan Siew Luen from RCS who moderated the discussion

Associate Professor Hsu Li Yang, Vice Dean (Global Health) and Infectious Diseases Programme Leader, gave a short presentation on the technologies being used to develop COVID-19 vaccines, and how those approved for use in different jurisdictions have shown to be effective in preventing hospitalisations and deaths.

Assistant Professor Hannah Clapham pointed out that when a larger proportion of the population is vaccinated, the chances of outbreaks of severe infection will be greatly reduced.

For the question and response segment, Assoc Prof Hsu and Asst Prof Clapham were joined by Associate Professor Steven Ooi to answer questions from the public.

Launch of Public Health Ambassador Programme

The RCS Public Health Ambassador Programme was officially launched during the forum, with its first training workshop taking place that same morning.

The programme aims to equip participants with the public health knowledge and skills needed to educate their communities on the importance of getting vaccinated.

Around 150 participants from various organisations of RCS attended the workshop, which was conducted by experts from SSHSPH.

Workshop - Group Photo - Facilitators, Rotarians and PH Ambassadors (1)
Rotarians, public health ambassadors and facilitators of the workshop

Mr Dinesh Sharma, RCS President, said, “Despite efforts of the health authorities in educating the public on the safety and benefits of the vaccine, there remains significant pockets within the population in Singapore that are hesitant to take the vaccine. We are happy to collaborate with the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, an invaluable partner in providing training to our RCS members to help promote vaccination and enable the safe reopening of the Singapore economy to save both lives and livelihoods.”

SSHSPH and RCS signed a Letter of Collaboration on 23 April 2021 to organise the Public Health Ambassador Programme and the public forum. This inaugural programme and collaboration are expected to lead to a long-term working relationship that will empower RCS youths and members with public health knowledge in helping Singapore communities weather the ongoing challenges of COVID-19 as well as other public health challenges.

The forum is available for playback here.

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