Jururawat rasa terlindung lepas terima vaksin Covid-19 (Nurses feel protected after receiving COVID-19 vaccine)

​Berita Harian report mentioned that about 120 NUHS healthcare workers have received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine as of date. One of them is Mr Muhammad Hafashah Mohd Aslam, Assistant Nurse Clinician at the Medical Intensive Care Unit, NUH, who shared that he felt more encouraged and assured after seeing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong taking a dose of the vaccine. In addition to MOH’s release of information about the vaccines, NUHS had also conducted a townhall session for its staff to address any queries related to the vaccine, which further eased Mr Hafashah’s concerns. The session explained the components of the vaccines as well as their safety and effectiveness.

规划人生最后一次善行 捐赠遗产留爱人间 (Plan one last act of kindness, donate inheritance and leave love in the world)

​zbSunday highlighted how “legacy giving” can be a way to leave love in the world after one’s passing. The estate of the late Dr Freda Paul, a respected paediatrician, had bequeathed $6.75 million to her alma mater, NUS Medicine. The gift will enable the school to set up a bursary for financially needy female medical undergraduates, a professorship, as well as a prize that will be awarded to female medical undergraduates. 

本地专家：尽可能戴合格口罩 (Experts: Wear certified masks as much as possible)

A/Prof Alex Cook, Vice Dean of Research, NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health (SSHSPH), commented that even though cloth masks are not as effective compared to medical grade masks, it is sufficient as there is low number of community cases.

As Covid-19 rages on, is Singapore risking too much to host the World Economic Forum?

​Prof Teo Yik Ying, A/Prof Hsu Li Yang and A/Prof Jeremy Lim from NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health (SSHSPH) shared their comments on the precautions and event-specific measures that would likely be implemented at the upcoming World Economic Forum to minimise risk of transmission between attendees as well as the community.

Norway deaths could be isolated incident: Experts

​A/Prof Hsu Li Yang, Vice Dean of Global Health and Programme Leader of Infectious Diseases, NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health (SSHSPH), said it is important to find out more to determine if the deaths of seniors who were vaccinated against COVID-19 in Norway was an issue of vaccine safety or that the deaths were just a coincidence. He added that because deaths and other severe illnesses occur at a higher rate among the elderly, a spate of such events could occur after vaccination “purely by chance, rather than being directly caused by the vaccine.” 

To encourage take-up of Covid-19 vaccine, govt officials will go door-to-door to address concerns: Gan Kim Yong

​A/Prof Hsu Li Yang, Vice Dean of Global Health and Programme Leader of Infectious Diseases, NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health (SSHSPH), pointed to the amount of confusing or misleading messages about the vaccines being spread in messaging groups on the phone and social media, which may exaggerate the concerns and anxieties felt by older residents. He suggested greater outreach through the communities they belong to, which would complement current efforts at public education.

Most mutations do not affect virus activity: Expert

​Prof Dale Fisher, Senior Consultant, NUH Division of Infectious Diseases, and A/Prof Alex Cook, Vice Dean of Research, NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health (SSHSPH), discussed mutations of the coronavirus which “has likely undergone thousands of mutations by now”. Prof Fisher said if new strains become widespread, the formulations of COVID-19 vaccines may need to be adjusted. While this is unlikely to be necessary if Singapore can keep its new case numbers down, it remains to be seen what effects future variants of the virus might have. 

• The New Paper, 20 January 2021
  
  

每天可服务逾7万人 下月起全国拟设36个疫苗接种中心 (Capable of serving 70,000 people daily, 36 COVID-19 vaccination centres to be set up nationwide from next month onwards)

​Lianhe Zaobao quoted A/Prof Alex Cook, Vice Dean of Research, NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health (SSHSPH) who welcomes the move of setting up more vaccination centres. A/Prof Cook commented that considering that each person will be administered two doses of vaccine, this means that about one million people will be able to complete two doses of vaccination every month. 

Coronavirus: could Singapore’s vaccine drive become a victim of the city’s own success?

​Prof Teo Yik Ying, A/Prof Hsu Li Yang and A/Prof Jeremy Lim from NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health (SSHSPH) shared their comments on the importance of the COVID-19 vaccine and its roll out in Singapore. A/Prof Lim said that it was right for the Singapore authorities not to rush people into vaccinations or to compel them as it was better to “lead by example” and vaccinate trusted individuals and professionals like doctors first.

COVID-19: Patients with mild symptoms may hesitate to see a doctor; experts urge public to be vigilant

​CNA quoted A/Prof Alex Cook, Vice Dean of Research, NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health (SSHSPH), and Prof Dale Fisher, Senior Consultant, NUH Division of Infectious Diseases, who discussed why many who fall sick with milder respiratory symptoms may hesitate to see a doctor immediately because they are not sure if they are really ill. The experts urged individuals to stay vigilant and go for a check-up if symptoms do arise.

Rise in Covid-19 community cases: No cause for concern yet but people can’t be complacent, experts say

​TODAY quoted A/Prof Alex Cook, Vice Dean of Research, NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health (SSHSPH), who opined that it would be of concern if the increase in community cases is sustained. He said if it stays at the current level, then that is “part and parcel of the relaxation of control measures when we moved to Phase 3”. However, if the weekly average continues to grow, then it means the measures in place, or the compliance with them, is not enough to maintain epidemic equipoise (a perfectly balanced situation). 

Healthy mum, healthy baby: Why pregnant women should exercise, keep a clean diet

​Prof Chong Yap Seng, Dean of NUS Medicine, shared findings and insights from the Growing Up In Singapore Towards Healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) study, including how gestational diabetes affects one in five pregnant women in Singapore, and that four in 10 of the mothers who had the condition in the study became pre-diabetic or diabetic within five years. GUSTO also found that physical activity and limiting children’s screen time would reduce the risk of childhood obesity. Prof Chong added that gestational diabetes is easy to manage as long as lifestyle changes are made, and eating clean and exercising are the best ways to reverse the condition and its ill effects

S’pore has role to play in fostering global cooperation amid challenges to multilateralism​

Multilateralism is far from perfect, but in a world where challenges such as Covid-19 are increasingly global and trans-border in nature, Singapore has a role to play in helping the world rebuild itself and stem the fraying of global cooperation.

国大高级顾问医生弗斯尔：发达国家疫情严重 尽快接种合乎情理 (NUH Senior Consultant Dale Fisher: Understandable for developed countries to hasten vaccines given the severity of their COVID situation)

​新加坡国立大学医院传染病科高级顾问医生戴尔·弗斯尔（Dale Fisher）指出，发达国家如果在控制好疫情的情况下大量抢先进口疫苗，难免会引来批评，指疫苗应先送往疫情较严峻的国家。

每天可服务逾7万人 下月起全国拟设36个疫苗接种中心 (Capable of serving 70,000 people daily, 36 COVID-19 vaccination centres to be set up nationwide from next month onwards)

​Lianhe Zaobao quoted A/Prof Alex Cook, Vice Dean of Research, NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health (SSHSPH) who welcomes the move of setting up more vaccination centres. A/Prof Cook commented that considering that each person will be administered two doses of vaccine, this means that about one million people will be able to complete two doses of vaccination every month.