Pay your own medical bills if you’re hospitalised because of COVID-19: Singapore government is cracking down on anyone who refuse to get vaccinated.

Those individuals who have not been vaccinated at the request of the Singapore Government, if get admitted as COVID 19 patients would be required to pay the hospital cover charge beginning December 8, since it has become increasingly difficult to prevent them from receiving their vaccinations.

Except for individuals who test positive shortly after returning from a trip overseas, the government presently covers the whole cost of all COVID 19 medical costs for all Singaporeans, permanent residents (PRs), and long-term pass holders.

Ong Yeh Kung, the Minister of Health, called the decision not to compensate people who have not been vaccinated against COVID 19 as an “important signal” to those who have not yet had their vaccinations.

Ong asked hospitals to pay more for these patients, saying that everyone who qualifies should be vaccinated, during a news briefing sponsored by the multi-ministerial task force dealing with COVID 19, of which he is co-chair.

“Currently, non-vaccinated persons account for a large proportion of those requiring serious inpatient care and contribute correspondingly to the strain on our health resources,” according to the Ministry of Health.

According to the Straits Times, the new billing method would only apply to individuals who refuse to get vaccinated despite being medically qualified, and only to those who have been admitted to the COVID 19 treatment center on or after December 8.

“Billing will continue to be based on our present grant system, subject to Medicare and Medishield Life claims, making it even more supporting and subsidized,” Ong explained.

MediSave and MediShield are tied to the Federal Provident Fund’s all-encompassing mandatory savings program.

The expenses of individuals who are not eligible for the vaccination, such as minors under the age of 12 and those who are unable to be vaccinated due to medical reasons, will be totally covered by the government, according to the ministry.

In the meanwhile, people who have only been partially vaccinated will not be charged for COVID 19 costs until December 31, allowing them time to manage their second doses.

If they catch the disease after this date, they will be responsible for their own medical expenditures.

Authorities realize that certain persons are medically ineligible for all COVID 19 immunizations under the National Immunization Program, according to The Straits Times.

From December 1st, these people will be excluded from vaccine-related safe management procedures.

In Singapore, there were 2,553 cases and 17 fatalities recorded on Sunday. In the rich city-state, 218,333 positive cases have been recorded.

Separately, the expert group will make a recommendation in the second part of November on whether the Pfizer-Bioentech COVID 19 vaccination should be extended to children aged 5 to 11, according to Ong.

The minister’s remarks came after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved the use of the Pfizer vaccine by youngsters under the age of 18.

According to Ong, the US FDA made its conclusion after Pfizer completed a clinical investigation, and children this age should get one-third of all adult medicine dosages. They’ll get two additional dosages, one after the other.

“The vaccination for this population is safe and effective based on this decreased dosage of the vaccine for adults in a trial done in the United States,” he added.

According to him, the Singapore expert panel on the COVID 19 vaccine analyzed the data and concluded that, in general, vaccinating children aged 5 to 11 is advantageous, especially given the existing societal predominance.

The Minister went on to say that the Ministry of Health would perform a study with a few hundred children under this age to determine whether the small-scale vaccination is suitable for children in this country.

The Ministry of Health will look at how to correctly deliver vaccines before increasing mobility, in addition to regularly checking for vaccinations acceptable for children four years of age and younger.