Singapore's government has been covering the medical bills of COVID-19 patients throughout the pandemic. But it says unvaccinated people will soon be on their own.

Those who are "unvaccinated by choice" will have to start paying for their own COVID-19 treatment starting Dec. 8, the Ministry of Health announced on Monday, citing the strain they are putting on the nation's health care system.

"Currently, unvaccinated persons make up a sizeable majority of those who require intensive inpatient care, and disproportionately contribute to the strain on our healthcare resources," it said in a statement.

Until now, the government has been covering the cost of COVID-19 care for all Singaporeans, permanent residents and long-term pass holders, excluding those who tested positive after returning from overseas travel.

"This was to avoid financial considerations adding to public uncertainty and concern when COVID-19 was an emergent and unfamiliar disease," it explained, adding that this system will continue to apply to "the majority who are vaccinated ... until the COVID-19 situation is more stable."

An obituary published in The Sunday Oregonian last weekend caused quite a stir. The obituary for Jessica Berg Wilson, a Seattle woman who was born and raised in Portland, said she had died of “Vaccine-Induced Thrombotic Thrombocytopenia (VITT).”

The notice went on to include details of Wilson’s life and upbringing, her career and her family. Within the obituary were several paragraphs that criticized “heavy-handed vaccine mandates” and blamed them for her death.

VITT, the blood-clotting problem cited as the cause of death, is a known, extremely rare side effect of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine used in the United States. After millions of doses, just four cases have been reported, according to a news article by reporter Aimee Green.

Obituaries and death notices are paid announcements placed by families or their representatives. They are handled by the advertising department, which is entirely separate from the newsroom, and fall under guidelines for advertisements.