In Belgium, the question of whether there should be a vaccination obligation for healthcare workers is again on the table, report Belgian media. Despite the fact that nursing homes have a high vaccination rate, a nursing home in Anzegem, West Flanders, had to be locked after an outbreak among twelve residents and six staff members. Three of the six infected staff had not been vaccinated and a fourth had only had one of the two injections.
Whether the virus entered the nursing home via the non-vaccinated is according to the Belgian newspaper The morning cannot be traced, and why they did not get vaccinated is also unclear. But the issue has sparked debate around making vaccination mandatory for health care workers.
Two large care umbrella organizations, UZ Brussel and Zorgnet-Icuro, have previously argued for such an obligation. They want the corona vaccine, just like the vaccination against hepatitis, to be included in the well-being at work act. Research by the GEMS advisory group warns that such an obligation could lead to increased aversion to vaccination, not only among health workers but among the general population.
The research also showed that well-informed health personnel also increases the willingness to vaccinate. The members of the advisory group noticed that a number of employees who do not want to be vaccinated fear fertility problems due to the vaccine. In the beginning, the Belgian government said that the vaccine was not recommended for pregnant women and women who wanted to become pregnant shortly afterwards. Meanwhile, knowledge about the vaccines is further according to GEMS, but these messages continue to circulate on social media.
Infectiologist Steven Callens, member of the advisory group: “We will have to continue to explain this and continue to reassure people. Because the vaccine makes you infertile is simply not right.”
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