The Flemish government wants to give the general population the opportunity to receive a third dose, the so-called ‘booster shot’ of the corona vaccine. The cabinet of Prime Minister Jan Jambon announced this on Friday. The Flemish government is asking the Superior Health Council to quickly provide clarity about the booster shot, and hopes that the Interministerial Conference on Public Health can quickly decide on this. There will be no expansion of the Covid Safe Ticket or the corona pass in Flanders.
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jvhSource: Own reporting, Belgium
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After residents of residential care centres, people with weakened immunity and the over-65s, the Flemish government therefore also wants to give the rest of the population the chance of a third shot (or in the case of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine a second vaccine). prick). The intention is to strengthen protection in the wider population in this way.
In concrete terms, Flanders wants to give all people over the age of twelve a third shot. That vaccination would take place via the vaccination centers, which would therefore have to remain open longer. But before Flanders can start with that extra vaccination, it has to wait for the advice of the Superior Health Council. That council is asked by the Flemish government to “provide clarity quickly, so that the IMC can also take a decision quickly”, according to a press release from Prime Minister Jan Jambon and Minister of Health Wouter Beke.
Vaccination rate
At present, about 80 percent of the entire population (and over 91 percent of the adult population) in Flanders is fully vaccinated. There are also more than 350,000 Flemings (5.3 percent) who have received an extra dose. “Vaccination is and will remain the way to beat the coronavirus. In Flanders, thanks to our high vaccination coverage, we can live and work freely, but vigilance is still required,” says Jambon.
Minister Beke also calls on people who have not yet been vaccinated to have themselves vaccinated. “As an unvaccinated person between the ages of 18 and 65, you are up to ten times more likely to end up in hospital with an infection compared to someone who has been fully vaccinated. This is a clear appeal to those people who still have not been vaccinated: take responsibility!”
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Geen Covid Safe Ticket
The Flemish government also reconfirmed the earlier decision on the Covid Safe Ticket on Friday. Unlike in Brussels and Wallonia, there will be no wider application of the corona pass. Local authorities can take additional measures in a targeted manner, for example by making mouth masks mandatory in certain places. According to the Jambon cabinet, “in the knowledge that mouth masks are more effective than CST in tackling the virus circulation, since they also prevent infection among and from vaccinated people”.
Vaccine obligation also for supporting healthcare staff
While the federal government is investigating and preparing the mandatory vaccination for healthcare personnel, the Flemish government is considering whether the same obligation can be introduced for healthcare personnel that do not fall under federal law.
It has also been decided to continue contact tracing and testing until the end of the winter. At the request of primary care zones, pediatricians and doctors, the government does want to phase out testing and tracing among under-12s. For example, only clinically symptomatic cases would be tested there.
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