'We protect each other': Flanders to vaccinate foreign students

'We protect each other': Flanders to vaccinate foreign students
Credit: canva

International students and teachers will soon be able to get vaccinated in Flanders in an effort to tackle the lower vaccination rates in the big cities of the region.

"On average, the level of vaccination in Flanders is slightly lower in the big cities," explained Flemish Minister of Public Health Wouter Beke on Friday. "By vaccinating foreign students in the city where they are studying, we not only protect them, but also their fellow students and families when they return home."

International students and teachers who have been vaccinated in another country are asked to bring the necessary supporting documents in order to sort them into three possible scenarios upon arrival. These are:

  • A student or teacher who has not (or not fully) been vaccinated will be told to follow the applicable arrival rules and offered the vaccine. This vaccination is then entered into Vaccinet, which creates an EU Digital Vaccination Certificate.
  • A student or teacher who has been fully vaccinated with an EMA-approved vaccine has their vaccination details entered into Vaccinnet, thus creating an EU Digital Vaccination Certificate.
  • A student or teacher who has been fully vaccinated with a non-EMA approved vaccine will be told to follow the applicable arrival rules and offered the vaccine. This vaccination is then entered into Vaccinet, which creates an EU Digital Vaccination Certificate.

Vaccination will take place in the existing vaccination centres or in the educational institutions themselves. As current vaccination centres will remain open until mid-October, students arriving at the start of the academic year can probably be vaccinated there one more time. For those arriving later - for instance at the start of the second semester - alternative vaccination options will be put in place.

"Students are a large part of the population in our university towns. It is therefore obvious that we offer them the opportunity to be vaccinated. That way, we also protect each other," Beke added.


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