According to the National Health Surveillance Survey 2013, only 15.2 per cent of Singaporeans aged 50 and above were vaccinated for influenza the year before. A separate audit at Bukit Batok Polyclinic in 2013 showed that uptake of the pneumococcal vaccine among at-risk adults with chronic obstructive lung disease and asthma was only 5.9 per cent.
Noting these figures, Associate Professor Hsu Li Yang, who leads the School’s Antimicrobial Resistance Programme and UHS-SPH Integrated Research Programme (USIRP), shared, “I would even propose providing the influenza vaccine free to adults and children annually in order to increase the vaccine uptake.”
He added that allowing the use of Medisave is helpful, but must be coupled with efforts by healthcare workers and the Health Promotion Board to increase awareness and acceptance of adult vaccination.
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