“This is new to me.” Federal Minister of Health Frank Vandenbroucke (Vooruit) was surprised on Friday when the Flemish government suddenly announced that it wants to give all people over 12 an extra corona shot. Until now, this vaccination only applies to people over 65 and the vulnerable. “There has been no communication whatsoever between myself and my colleague within the Flemish government,” said Vandenbroucke about Wouter Beke (CD&V).
The Vaccination Task Force, the federal body that coordinates the vaccination campaign, also fell completely out of the blue. Normally, decisions about the vaccination strategy follow a fixed pattern: first the advice of the Superior Health Council and the Task Force is requested, then the Ministers of Health decide. Now the Flemish government – at least in its communication – seems to have skipped those steps.
“Of course we ask the Superior Health Council to give advice,” the Beke cabinet said. “But our intention is clear.” According to Beke, the issue was already discussed in consultations with the other ministers.
Smokescreen
The decision comes at a time when the Flemish government is under pressure to expand the use of the corona pass, such as in the catering industry. Coalition parties CD&V and Open Vld had opened the door for this, but N-VA is putting the brakes on. A meeting between the Flemish government and the governors yesterday brought little change.
The Brussels government is told that Flanders is putting up a smokescreen with the booster shot to mask its internal difference of opinion about the corona pass. It is uncertain whether the region will support the booster jab. “Our priority now is to distribute as many first and second shots as possible,” said a government source. At the federal level, Vandenbroucke emphasizes that it is important to follow scientific advice.
These advices are not so clear at the moment. “Most people in Belgium have not yet been vaccinated for six months. The younger people are also still well protected. A booster dose will therefore only be required after six months at the earliest,” says Dirk Ramaekers, top man of the Vaccination Taskforce. If there is a third shot, it will be after New Years.
The Flemish government also decided not to test children under the age of twelve, unless they show clinical symptoms themselves. The federal phase of crisis management, which would normally end on November 1, may be extended further. Everyone is therefore looking forward to next Friday’s Consultation Committee, which will consider the increasing infections and hospital admissions.
Booster shots in Flanders
In Flanders, 350,000 inhabitants or 5.3 percent of the entire population have already received a booster shot.
The over-85s already received the most booster shots, in Flanders just under 63 percent. Nearly 17 percent of 75 to 84-year-olds have been vaccinated with an extra shot, and slightly more than 8 percent of 65 to 74-year-olds.
‘Full protection again after third Pfizer shot’
A booster shot with the vaccine from Pfizer/BioNTech ensures that protection against Covid-19 is complete again, both companies said yesterday on the basis of a large study.
A third shot of the vaccine is 95.6 percent effective against the coronavirus, the conclusion is after research among 10,000 people aged 16 and older. They received the booster shot on average 11 months after their second vaccination. The mean age was 53 years.
The data can help regulators to decide for which groups the boosters should be used. In Israel, for example, it has been decided to make it available to virtually everyone, while in the US and Europe it has often been decided to only administer the booster to the elderly and other risk groups. Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended offering a third dose of approved vaccines to people with reduced resistance.
Other research from the Israeli research institute Clalit and Harvard University shows that young adults who have received two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine are up to 90 percent less likely to be infected.
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