The Flemish government wants to give the general population the opportunity to receive a third shot or booster shot of the corona vaccine. ‘We must be able to protect people as much as possible,’ said Flemish minister Beke. Federal Minister Vandenbroucke emphasizes the importance of scientific advice.
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After residents of residential care centres, people with weakened immunity and the over-65s, the rest of the population will therefore also have the opportunity to receive a third shot (or, in the case of the Janssen vaccine, a second shot). The intention is to strengthen protection in the wider population in this way, said Flemish Minister of Welfare Wouter Beke (CD&V) at VRT.Nws.
‘We think there is enough evidence to do that, and that we have to decide quickly’, says Beke. ‘I have asked the experts that an egg can be laid quickly by the Superior Health Council, there is no time to waste. Maximum vaccination is the best answer to the rapidly rising infection rates.’
There is no great pressure on our hospitals yet, but that may have an effect, the minister emphasizes. ‘Vaccination is not the only line of defense, but it is the most important. We must be able to protect people as much as possible.’
• Declining protection makes people over 65 vulnerable
‘A third shot initially did not seem necessary for anyone, now it has already been rolled out for the vulnerable and the over-65s, there is also demand from healthcare staff who have already been vaccinated in January, and we see that a number of other countries are already doing this. ‘
Minister Beke also points out the practical side of the matter. The sooner a decision can be made, the more time there is to get it organised. After all, many test centers have already closed. That possible third shot would be a vaccine from Pfizer or Moderna, the minister finally stated. The IMC Public Health will meet again on Wednesday.
Vandenbroucke insists on scientific advice
Minister of Health Frank Vandenbroucke ‘has no problem with explicitly submitting the question to the Superior Health Council’. His cabinet says that the IMC will only switch to vaccination when science (the SHC and the Vaccinations Task Force, ed.) gives a favorable opinion on this. ‘The broader question to give all Belgians a booster vaccine was not explicitly asked. Implicitly, the question is already before the SHC, because it was asked to think about further steps.’ Those next steps were primarily to give people with underlying conditions and those on the AstraZeneca and Janssen vaccines a booster shot.
Is the minister surprised by the Flemish intention? He doesn’t want to say that. In response to a question from Kathleen Depoorter (N-VA), he said in the competent House Committee that there has not yet been any mutual communication between my colleague within the Flemish government about a booster shot for the general population (Wouter Beke, ed.) and myself. This is new to me.’
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