Our country started vaccinating foreign seafarers in Belgian ports on 26 July, the first in the world, it turns out. The vaccination campaign aims to reach sailors who are often on a ship for extended periods.
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Some 80,000 seamen and women are employed on the 5,500 ships that call at the Belgian ports every year. A group that is often overlooked when it comes to corona measures, but is susceptible to corona outbreaks on board. Many seafarers also come from countries where few or no corona vaccines are available. Anyone who signs up, signs off or stays or works on board a seagoing vessel in a Belgian port are eligible for an injection. Vaccination is done once, with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, says communications adviser to Secretary of Quickenborne Maxime Laporte.
“There are three locations where vaccinations are carried out: Ghent, Antwerp and Zeebrugge. And five teams will be mobilized, each with a doctor and two nurses. We’re sending the medical teams aboard the ship to minimize the risk of spreading. We are the first in the world to vaccinate the seafarers on board.”
According to Hilde Bruggeman of the Antwerp Shipping Association, it is a win-win situation. “Shipowners have been looking for some time to have their crews vaccinated in a smooth and safe manner. We will certainly reap the benefits of this in the long run: not only will it become safer for everyone who has to go on board professionally, we also run less risk of problems with infected crews when calling at our ports.”
This campaign comes after a first phase for Belgian seafarers, which started on 2 June.
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