Home recovery is default care management for fully vaccinated infected individuals

Home recovery is default care management for fully vaccinated infected individuals

Evidence shows that infected individuals who are fully vaccinated are mostly asymptomatic or showing mild symptoms. They also recover faster than unvaccinated individuals.

The Ministry of Health had started the Home Recovery Pilot on 30 August for fully vaccinated individuals infected with COVID-19 and the results thus far has been positive.

Under this pilot, infected vaccinated individuals can recover from home provided they have a suitable home setting where they can be isolated from the rest of their household and provided their household members are also fully vaccinated and do not belong to any vulnerable groups such as the elderly or the immunocompromised.

The infected individuals were equipped with care packs to monitor their symptoms. They were also given access to 24/7 telemedicine support if they required any medical assistance.

21 individuals were enrolled on this pilot. Nine of them have since been discharged and the rest remain clinically well.

Given the encouraging pilot results, the MOH will expand home recovery as the default care management protocol for fully vaccinated individuals up to 50 years old From 15 September 2021. These individuals must have no co-morbidities or underlying illnesses.

This updated healthcare protocol will enable Singapore to cope with the current level of infections.

The isolation period for fully vaccinated infected individuals will also be shortened because evidence shows that they recover faster. They can be discharged as early as 7 days into their illness if they have an undetectable or very low viral load showing that they are non-infectious. For unvaccinated individuals, they will continue to be discharged from 14 days into their illness.

Care for infected children

Most infected children are well with no symptoms. The MOH will allow infected children to be cared for at home if they are at least 5 years old and do not have co-morbidities or underlying illnesses. These children will first be assessed by the hospital to be clinically fit for home recovery. Currently, all children are admitted and cared for in the hospital.

[irp posts=”10260″ name=”Living with COVID: Singapore has to find own way forward, says Lawrence Wong”]

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