SINGAPORE: The nurse who lost her job after getting a severe reaction to the COVID 19 vaccine is yet to apply for the Vaccine Injury Financial Assistance Programme VIFAP The Ministry of Health MOH said on Wednesday that it had reached out to her to check if she would submit an application. The scheme provides one-time goodwill financial assistance to individuals who have serious side effects that are assessed by a doctor to be related to COVID 19 vaccines administered under the National Vaccine Programme in Singapore.
This includes the Pfizer-BioNTech Comirnaty vaccine, Moderna Spikevax vaccine and Novavax Nuvaxovid vaccine. If received from Oct 23, 2021, Sinovac-CoronaVac vaccinations are also eligible.
Singaporeans, permanent residents or long-term pass holders who have been recommended to receive the COVID-19 vaccine are eligible for the payout.
On December 31, 2022, 413 applications received payouts under the VIFAP, with a total of S $1,895, 000 paid out or offered to applicants, according to MOH.
Three applicants have been offered a S $225,000 payout under Tier 1, which is extended to people who have died or become permanently disabled.
MOH said all VIFAP applications will be reviewed by an independent clinical panel. To qualify for VIFAP, the clinical panel must have assessed that there was a serious side effect that was related to the COVID 19 vaccine received. Under Tier 2 people with subsequent recovery, those who require admission to high dependency or intensive care, with subsequent recovery, will receive S $10,000, while those who require inpatient hospitalisation, with subsequent recovery, will get S2,000 under Tier 3.
A High Court ruling earlier this month stated that the woman had suffered a severe adverse reaction to her second dose of a COVID- 19 vaccine in March 2021, following which she was hospitalised for 151 days.
She was diagnosed with Involuntary Movement Disorder, leaving her wheelchair-bound and unable to resume her job as a nurse at Singapore General Hospital.