Belgium expects the first vaccine deliveries from pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson from 16 or 17 April, according to the Vaccination Taskforce.
"The delivery schedule is expected in the first half of next week," Dirk Ramaekers, the head of the taskforce said. "Based on the current information, we will be able to count on 1.4 million doses in the second quarter."
According to him, this is good news for the vaccination campaign, as only one dose of Johnson & Johnson's vaccine is needed.
"If the company delivers as expected, the deliveries could potentially make up for the reduced deliveries from AstraZeneca," they added.
Additionally, the taskforce announced that a stock of Pfizer vaccines will no longer be kept, as was the case before, when for every jab that was administered, the second dose was kept in stock.
However, this precautionary measure is no longer necessary as Pfizer is keeping its delivery promises, according to the taskforce.
"For AstraZeneca, on the other hand, this remains difficult," Ramaekers added. "They still regularly make adjustments to promised volumes, sometimes even in the week of delivery."
Maïthé Chini
The Brussels Times
