Over a month after the start of the autumn Covid-19 vaccination campaign, "relatively few" people in Belgium have received their booster shot against the virus, according to virologist Steven Van Gucht.
The booster shot against Covid-19 is strongly recommended for people over 65 years old, pregnant women, people with underlying conditions and healthcare workers – targeting about 3.5 million Belgians.
But the population does not seem eager to be vaccinated against the virus again, figures from the Sciensano National Health Institute and the regional Departments of Healthcare show. Taking into account the entire target group, only about one in seven of them have received a booster.
"This is relatively little," Van Gucht told Het Laatste Nieuws, particularly referring to the low number among those over 65. "They are the most important target group. I can only say that the willingness appears to be low."
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However, as getting the shot is "completely voluntary," it is difficult to say why so many people have not accept the invitation from their doctor or pharmacist.
As with previous vaccination campaigns in recent years, the regional differences are "striking," Van Gucht said. In Flanders, over half of the over-65s have been re-vaccinated (comparable to the number of them – around 60% – who have received a flu vaccine), compared to barely 14.7% in Brussels.
In total, nearly 1,4 million people in Belgium have already received an autumn booster. About 1.2 million of those are Flemish.
