Unfortunately, the slowdown in vaccination in Belgium is no longer considered exceptional. We’re talking about 400,000 doses sleeping in fridges.
“There is really a lot of disruption in the vaccine stocks, especially in AstraZeneca,” admits Sabine Stordor, head of the vaccination task force.
AstraZeneca vaccine is used in hospitals to vaccinate non-pathogenic people and also on the first line in healthcare communities through vaccination centers. Births are relatively unconfirmed with this vaccine. When the vaccination centers issued the invitations, it was essential to ensure that there was enough vaccine available to issue the invitations and to ensure that people had access to the vaccination center. “
So the machine was launched. Everything was ready, according to officials, but the process wasn’t perfect. “With the little bugs from last week, there was some delay (sic) before people came to vaccination centers. This is the least we could write.
“The stocks currently available are not inactive stocks, but they are already scheduled to be used next week and the following week,” insists our interlocutor. According to her, the delay will be compensated and Phase 1B will start on time, most likely in the third week of March. This stage concerns about one million people in Wallonia.
For his part, Federal Minister of Health Frank Vandenbrück requested the opinion of the Supreme Council of Health in three ways to accelerate the vaccination campaign in our country.
First, he wants to know if it is safe to take longer between administering Pfizer’s first and second vaccinations. Experience abroad shows that the first injection is indeed very effective. The second question concerns the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is not currently recommended for people over the age of 55. However, other countries are already using it for this age group. Finally, he wants to know if a single dose of vaccine is sufficient. So the question is whether a “one-shot” strategy is feasible.
Vandenbroucke awaits the opinion of the Supreme Council of Health at the beginning of next week.
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