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The premier announced yesterday: the coronavirus vaccination should start in Belgium on January 5. But how will it work in practice?
Belgium will initially have 600,000 doses through the order managed by the European Commission. This first phase will allow 300,000 people to be vaccinated as this vaccine must be administered twice before it is effective. These first vaccines come from the pharmaceutical company Pfizer, one of whose production sites is in Belgium (in Puurs).
The Federal Agency for Medicines and Health Products (AFPMS) manages the purchase of these vaccines and the coordination of distribution for our country.
►►► Read also: Covid-19: everything you need to know about the vaccination campaign in Belgium
Once the vaccines are ready, they will be sent to a centralized hub managed by the Medista company. This a company specialized in medical transport will receive the vaccines but also the equipment necessary for vaccination (syringes, needles, dry ice, etc.). The order for these accessories is in progress.
Under the supervision of AFPMS, Medista will then handle the distribution of vaccines in centers that have vaccine storage facilities, such as hospitals.
The vaccine will be administered by hospital staff.
Nursing home residents and staff are among the priority groups, but nursing homes generally don’t have the infrastructure to store the vaccine at -75 ° C. This is why these centers will partner with hospitals.
The procedure should take two weeks.
Plans in several stages
The first vaccines will be distributed during phase Ia. During this first phase, the quantities of vaccines are very limited. Priority groups are nursing and nursing home residents, health workers (frontline staff, nursing homes, hospitals)
In phase Ib, the number of vaccines available will be greater and the priority groups will be expanded: patients at risk among public services
It is only in phase II that we can speak of generalized vaccination, even for low-risk groups.
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