This means that in a first phase, only 150,000 nursing home residents can be vaccinated, instead of the planned 300,000, because two doses per person are needed.
The cause of this delay is due to global production problems at drug maker Pfizer. The company stressed on Friday that despite a slower start, it still plans to produce some 1.3 billion doses by the end of 2021.
Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke also said the backlog could be largely cleared by February. He stressed that the whole of Europe will have to face this problem.
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