H1N1 INNOCULATIONS FOR TAXI DRIVERS

H1N1 INNOCULATIONS FOR TAXI DRIVERS

19.

Mr Chiam See Tong asked the Minister for Health whether his Ministry is willing to grant free H1N1 innoculations to taxi drivers since they are in the front line of public transport service.

Mr Khaw Boon Wan: H1N1 vaccination is recommended, but it is voluntary, not unlike seasonal flu vaccination.

Many employers have subsidised their employees for H1N1 vaccination, or even provided it for free. They take into account the need for business continuity and their existing employment medical benefits obligations.

In the public sector, we have compiled a list of essential frontline staff and we offer them free H1N1 vaccination. They number some 200,000 persons.

We leave it to taxi operators to work with the associations representing their taxi drivers on whether to offer subsidised H1N1 vaccination to them.

For those who need to be vaccinated but who have financial difficulty, polyclinics will assist, subject to means-testing.