A total of S$1,895,000 has been paid out or offered to applicants under the Vaccine Injury Financial Assistance Programme. - ST FILE
SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/Asia News Network): A total of 413 people have received payouts under the Vaccine Injury Financial Assistance Programme (Vifap) as at Dec 31, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Wednesday (Jan 25).
This is up from 296 at the end of 2021.
A total of S$1,895,000 has been paid out or offered to applicants, the ministry added.
The Tier 1 payout of $225,000 – extended to those who have died or become permanently disabled following administration of a Covid-19 vaccine – has been extended to three applicants so far.
It was previously reported that among those who qualified for the maximum payout was a 16-year-old who suffered cardiac arrest in 2021 following a weightlifting session, six days after receiving his first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty vaccine. He was in the intensive care unit and underwent inpatient rehabilitation.
Vifap provides “one-time goodwill financial assistance” to those who experience serious side effects related to Covid-19 vaccines.
Those eligible must be Singapore citizens, permanent residents or long-term pass holders who were vaccinated under the national Covid-19 vaccination programme.
They must also have subsequently experienced a serious side effect that either required inpatient hospitalisation, caused persistent incapacity or disability, or was fatal, which was assessed by a doctor to be related to their vaccination.
Responding to queries regarding a former Singapore General Hospital (SGH) nurse who suffered a severe adverse reaction following her second dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, MOH said it had not received a Vifap application from the woman in question.
“We have reached out to her to check if she would like to submit an application,” said an MOH spokesman.
“All Vifap applications will be reviewed by an independent clinical panel. To qualify for Vifap, the clinical panel must have assessed that a serious side effect occurred that is related to the Covid-19 vaccine received,” the spokesman added.
The former nurse – who received her second jab in March 2021 – was hospitalised for 151 days, and was diagnosed with involuntary movement disorder, which left her wheelchair-bound and requiring constant intubation with an oxygen tank.
CNA reported on Jan 13 that she had won an appeal against a court order to pay child maintenance after losing her job in December.
SGH told the media outlet that the woman was welcome to reapply to join the hospital “when she is better”.
