Endless hiccups!

Unfortunately, the slowdown in vaccinations in Belgium is no longer considered uncommon. We are talking about 400,000 doses sleeping in the fridge.

“There is a lot of confusion in vaccine stocks and especially in astrogen,” said Sabine Stordour, head of the vaccine task force.

The astrogenic vaccine is used to vaccinate non-nursing staff in hospitals and at the forefront of health care groups through vaccination centers. “Deliveries for this vaccine are very uncertain. When immunization centers issue invitations, we need to make sure that enough vaccine is available to issue invitations and when people come to the immunization center.”

So the machine was started. According to officials, everything is ready, but the operation is not correct. “With the minor bugs from last week, there has been some delay (sic) before people show up at vaccination centers. This is the lowest we can write.

“Currently available stocks are not dormant stocks, but they are already planned to be used next week and next week,” our interlocutor stressed. According to her, the delay will occur and begin at phase 1b, probably in the 3rd week of March. This phase is related to 1 million people in Valonia.

Federal Health Minister Frank Vandenbrook requested the opinion of the Superior Council of Health on three ways to accelerate the vaccination campaign in our country.

First, he wants to know if it is safe to take more time between the first administration of the Pfizer vaccine and the second. Experience abroad shows that the first injection is already very effective. The second question relates to the estrogena vaccine, which is currently not recommended for those over 55 years of age. However, other countries are already using it for this age. Finally, he wants to know if a single dose of the vaccine is adequate. Hence the question of whether a “one-shot” strategy is possible.

Vandenbrock is awaiting the opinion of the Superior Council of Health early next week.