The government must offer Singaporeans a clear stance regarding the Sinovac vaccine.

If Sinovac is good, then it should be made part of the national vaccination programme.

After all, orders of the vaccine have already been delivered and paid for with our tax monies.

If it is deemed to be not good enough, then it shouldn’t be allowed in private healthcare institutions at all.

Such a move could potentially endanger the health and safety of Singaporeans.

Instead, the Ministry of Health has made an irresponsible compromise.

It says you are allowed to use Sinovac – but at your own risk, and we won’t cover you under government financial aid for any side effects.

This smacks of yet another half-baked attempt at shirking responsibility by giving unclear directions.

The multi-ministerial task force, together with its panel of experts, are the ones with the most information on hand, much of which is not available to the general public.

They must make a firm decision.

Political leadership is especially important in times of fear and uncertainty.

This, unfortunately, appears to be sorely lacking in the government’s management of the Covid-19 pandemic thus far.

SDA Chairman’s Office