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 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
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.
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.
Media coverage:
- Vaccine Hesitancy & New Public Health Ambassadors, CNA 938, 3 June 2021
- Rotary Club, NUS school launch ambassador programme to tackle misinformation on vaccines, The Straits Times, 5 June 2021
- 150多名志愿者将参与培训普及疫苗知识, Lianhe Zaobao, 5 June 2021
- 新公共卫生大使计划 助普及冠病疫苗知识, Channel 8, 5 June 2021
- Program baru duta kesihatan awam dilancar; galak orang ramai dapatkan suntikan vaksin COVID-19, Berita Mediacorp, 5 June 2021
- Singapore Tonight, Channel NewsAsia, 5 June 2021
- Suria News, 5 June 2021
- 公共卫生大使 为公众解惑, Shin Min Daily News, 5 June 2021
- Scheme to train ‘ambassadors’ to tackle misinformation on vaccines, The Straits Times, 6 June 2021
- தடுப்பூசி பற்றி பபோதிக்கும் புதிய தூதுவர் செயல்திட்டம், Tamil Murasu, 6 June 2021
- 国大公卫学院与扶轮社合作 百多名志愿者推广接种冠病疫苗, Lianhe Zaobao, 8 June 2021