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[–]Geralt_De_Rivia 2197 points2198 points2199 points 432 (40 children)

I believe everyone's missing a bit of context here and they think Health Care was free in Singapore and it won't be now for unvaccinated people that get COVID. That's not the case.

When COVID hit, the Government made medical care due to COVID fully free. It was the only treatment 100% free offered by the State. What they're doing now is revoking that free COVID treatment for those unvaccinated.

I know that's exactly what the news article says but wanted to bring some context in case someone thinks this is a Health Care system like the Spanish one, where every treatment is free and people pay a lot of taxes.

EDIT: thanks a lot for the awards! Since some people complained I basically rephrased what could have been said with 10 words, I wanted to expand on the context I tried to introduce here.

In Singapore, every worker is forced to put money on a fund called CPF (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Provident_Fund). You're supposed to pay healthcare from that fund but that doesn't mean healthcare is free. However, COVID treatment was free. They wouldn't deduct money from your CPF. Until now. From now on, if you're not vaxxed and could have been, you need to pay for COVID treatment from your CPF.

[–]SQUID_FUCKER 209 points210 points211 points  (44 children)

It's disheartening, sorry you're experiencing it. What I think is, at least in terms of that specific type of vaccine hesitancy, is that some people seem to be afraid that they might end up dying from the vaccine today but have no trouble with the idea of an uncertainty of COVID and a fatal outcome, even it is a far greater likelihood. It's almost like they just don't want to have to choose right now. So they push it off for another time. A problem for another day. Just ignore it and maybe I'll get lucky and won't have to make a choice at all. Sort of an action versus inaction thing and they're willing to accept the latter.

Sometimes I wonder if it's this same type of attitude or thinking that has allowed climate change to keep getting pushed off on other generations. Some people just would rather not do the hard work now, even if it means a worse outcome later.

It also seems like a lot of this 'do your own research' or 'I read all the sources and came to this conclusion' is less, 'I'm making an informed decision' and more, 'I read a bunch of stuff I didn't like until I found something that confirmed what I wanted to be true.' Our collective media literacy is terrible.

[–]Very_Slow_Cheetah 71 points72 points73 points  (13 children)

Patient is more like "I read a bunch of shit online from 3 or 4 sources that agreed with my initial bias, so now I refute anything else as Big Pharma Conspiracy, or Government Mind Control.

Doctor - You have severe Covid and need to be intubated, the survival rate once intubated is 50% in this hospital, it's a coin flip if you survive.

Patient - I changed my mind, let me some of those vaccine research papers again.

Doctor - Too late buddy

[–]BE_FUCKING_KIND 12 points13 points14 points  (0 children)

It also seems like a lot of this 'do your own research' or 'I read all the sources and came to this conclusion' is less, 'I'm making an informed decision' and more, 'I read a bunch of stuff I didn't like until I found something that confirmed what I wanted to be true.'

You are way too generous. These people aren't even getting close to reading something they don't like.

They're not searching "Is the vaccine safe" and bypassing articles they don't agree with. They're searching "the vaccine is dangerous" and then calling it a day.

[–]psykick32 41 points42 points43 points  (8 children)

It's insanely annoying. My wife is a nurse that literally works on the covid floor and I'm a nurse....

But my mom sends me texts explaining why masks don't work.

My response was "alright cool let me get the hospital administration on the phone to inform them that (can't remember her source but it was obvious BS) said masks don't work and we shouldn't bother"

Apparently that's not "respectful of your elders" my response was she wasn't respecting My wife and my degree and first hand experience.

Obviously that didn't achieve anything and we're staying home for the holidays.

[–]cakeday173 38 points39 points40 points  (2 children)

Hesitancy.

Some people in the 60+ age bracket have the attitude that they won't live much longer, so no point taking the vaccine. Or they might be scared of the side effects. There are also a minority who are hardcore antivaxxers.

There are also those who are less mobile or have pre-existing health conditions, but then again the government have set up mobile vaccination teams and removed some contraindications so this has become less of an issue.

[–]superman1995 12 points13 points14 points  (0 children)

Illiteracy in English is also a huge issue.

A study by Duke-NUS medical school regarding adherence to medication found that over 61% of those over 65 that were surveyed were unable to read in English.

The government has been making more of a concerted effort to reach out to those that are unable to read or write in English, but it's a painfully slow process.

[–]craicthatwhip 1115 points1116 points1117 points  (355 children)

Ireland.

We are experiencing an increase in cases and hospitalisations at the moment but our vaccination rate seems to be keeping the worst of it out of ICU thankfully, for now at least. We could expect much higher deaths without the vaccines, like last Winter.

You also need the EU-Covid vaccination pass to be able to do nearly everything indoors here; cinemas, resteraunts, bars etc. and I don't see that policy changing any time soon.

[–]Orange-of-Cthulhu 22 points23 points24 points  (7 children)

I think some people are just too plain weird and confused to get vaccinated.

Way back when I had a student job doing surveys over the phone I got to talk to so many weird people. Like there was a guy that couldn't answer what his education was, because he simply didn't know if he had gone to high school or not - he was 50/50 on it lol.

Later on I worked in a hotel, also met so many weird people there. There was a guy that got heart surgery and then after it went straight to the hotel, immediately downed a bottle or two of whiskey and then spent the night sort of thrashing about in the reception comlaining about his heart.

On top of those people that are super weird but somehow can function relatively normally, you have mentally ill people, homeless and drug addicts plus combinations. Those, they can't really get vaccinated either.

It's hard to get the last bit of people vaccinated. IDK how you do with mentally ill homeless. You could walk around in the street and look for them I guess and ask them if they want a shot there and then in the street, but I haven't heard any country doing that yet.

[–]ElusiveSnowman 55 points56 points57 points  (36 children)

people who are vaccinated against everything else except COVID?

I feel like this base is probably most of them. People hesitant to get a new vaccine that has been emergency use only until very recently for some countries. I feel like most of them will come around once the world approves it from emergency use to common use and the longer term effects are studied.

I would even argue that these people may not even be "anti-vaxx" and probably should be labeled "new vaxx hesitant" or something like that.

[–]bloatedplutocrat 161 points162 points163 points  (11 children)

"People who want state benefits need to take a drug test!"

Ooh, fun story on that one. Rick Scott, the then governor now senator for Florida, who implemented that was also the CEO of the company that was convicted of the biggest Medicare/Medicaid fraud in history (at the time). After he jumped ship from that company he opened up a series of facilities in Florida that his wife took control of when he became governor. Those facilities won state contracts for drug testing.

As long as those people get hurt then blatant corruption is what republicans prefer.

[–]imoldgreige 28 points29 points30 points  (0 children)

“No free healthcare… unless you refuse to listen to modern medicine and don’t get vaccinated. Then you get free healthcare, provided by modern medical experts.” —GQP

They are the political metaphor of a dog barking at its reflection in a mirror, though significantly less amusing.

Edit: I don’t know your coworkers political affiliation but one can assume.

[–]ITS_A_GUNDAAAM 65 points66 points67 points  (10 children)

Dang, I was frantic to find anywhere I could get vaccinated when I was still pregnant (knowing that’s one of the highest risk categories for covid). I don’t live in the US so it was even more infuriating to see people turn down a free vaccine when so many people around the world were, and still are, begging for it. I eventually was able to but for a while it was chaos trying to find anywhere I could get an appointment.

(Gave birth two months ago, baby loves his 5G)

edit: as some have been skeptical that a pregnant woman would be worried about a disease that could kill her and her unborn child, particularly due to the local government’s boneheaded insistence on holding the Olympics during a pandemic with prevention measures as flimsy as a Kleenex, frantic would be the right word to describe my quest for vaccine appointments

[–]kindnesshasnocost 50 points51 points52 points  (10 children)

I refuse to live in fear too!

That's why I got vaccinated, always wear a mask, and do my best to socially distance and disinfect my hands, keys, phone, shoes, etc., and why I am going for a third shot soon!

If this is all I can do minimize the anxiety, I'll take it.

Spent almost 2 years virtually a hermit.

Just wanna live now.

I cannot imagine even peaking through my front window without a vaccine!

How do these people talk about refusing to live in fear!

What they do willingly and proudly is the definition of terror for me lol.

[–]esperboy 143 points144 points145 points  (18 children)

It's obvious that so many redditors don't actually read the post before commenting. Hell, some don't even make it past the headline.

> Unvaccinated by choice no longer receive FREE covid-19 treatment.

FFS, no one is being denied care. And no one is paying full price for treatments as the Singapore government has in place covid subsidized treatment for EVERYONE. Yes, even the unvaccinated.

Vaccinated = Free treatment

Unvaccinated = Pay out of own pocket (at subsidized rate)

[–]hyperfat 8 points9 points10 points  (0 children)

Hugs. My bar has a full spread and good music for Thanksgiving for people who don't have family, or in your case, shitty family.

And yes, all the staff is vaccinated and all the local drunks.

Friendsgiving is good too. 🙂

[–]mcq316 1556 points1557 points1558 points  (379 children)

That seems fair.

Edit: I didn’t read the article. I’m just going off the headline. It says those who don’t get the vaccine wouldn’t get FREE treatment. I’m not advocating refusing them treatment altogether.

That seems like a critical component. If you aren’t taking the free steps to prevent the disease you shouldn’t be given free treatment.

[–]Contribution-Certain 16 points17 points18 points  (13 children)

It’s concerning, the amount of people who didn’t read the headline or the article.

The people who are unvaccinated by CHOICE won’t receive FREE treatment for COVID. Nobody is being denied healthcare.

So, the argument that so many have made, suggesting that people who are obese, smokers, motorcycle riders, etc. not receive health care, does not make sense for a few reasons. First, being that the article doesn’t say that non-vaccinated people are being refused health care, they just have to pay for it. Much like anyone experiencing any of the above illnesses. Second, none of those are preventable via a vaccine. Third, obesity, smoking, drinking, etc. won’t kill other people, aren’t highly contagious, and aren’t the result of people who suddenly don’t believe in science.

[–]HunterKiller_ 30 points31 points32 points  (29 children)

Great. This is what I've been saying.

I support freedom of choice, but if you choose to reject free preventative measures, then you defacto reject the other associated free health care.

EDIT: to address everyone with the 'slippery slope' rhetoric:
Obesity, drug addiction, general bad health are not even remotely similiar to a viral pandemic. (I won't include smoking because there are reasonable parallels to be drawn there)

Are they bad? Of course. Should we do something about them? Absolutely. But to compare them with Covid is nothing short of bad-faith, political rhetoric.

  • These are not contagious diseases.
  • They are not single-cause issues, i.e. nobody becomes obese in same way; a child can grow up obese due to the actions of their parents. Obesity is also genetically heritable. The variables are countless.
  • There's no instantaneous prevention for them.
  • People of sound mind do not choose to be obese, addicted to drugs or be in bad health. If you could offer an injection to rid someone of any these condition, I will bet most people will take it.

[–]Watermelon-Slushie 27 points28 points29 points  (1 child)

Hospital biller here!

Most plans did waive cost shares during the duration of the pandemic, however some have started to implement them again (as of august for a lot of private insurance). Testing is still almost entirely free tho, at least for my hospitals lab

Edit: I do want to note (and full disclosure, I didn’t know this because I handle private insurance not government plans), Medicare did NOT waive cost share for inpatient stays. Which is extremely fucked up