Brussels wants to keep four vaccination centres open for booster shots

Brussels wants to keep four vaccination centres open for booster shots
A vaccination centre in Brussels. Credit: Belga

The Brussels-Capital Region wants to keep four vaccination centres open until at least April 2022 to administer booster doses of coronavirus vaccines to the general population.

On Wednesday, Belgium’s Health Ministers gave the green light to offer all those who were initially vaccinated with the single-dose Johnson & Johnson jab an extra shot from mid-December and announced that the general population will receive a booster dose of a coronavirus vaccine next year.

Currently,  there are five vaccination centres open in Brussels, but they are all expected to close their doors by the end of this year.

However, the number of general practitioners, who can also administer vaccines in the region, is too low to support the booster vaccine campaign on a large scale, according to Brussels Health Minister Alain Maron.

"That is why we are working on several solutions that should make it possible to develop a more decentralised strategy for the booster dose while continuing to work with several vaccination centres," a statement from Maron, read in the Brussels' parliament by Mobility Minister Elke Van den Brandt, noted.

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The region is considering reopening a vaccination centre, where third jabs will be given to healthcare staff from the end of November, and which would then also remain open for the broader booster campaign starting next year.

"Talks are also being finalised on opening other centres in places where there were centres before," the statement added.

"In function of the discussions with the partners of the vaccination centres, we would like to keep the current centres open as long as necessary, certainly the first four months of 2022."

Maron stressed that right now, the focus in Brussels is to administer booster shots for the over-65s.

The Health Ministers are expected to discuss exactly how the booster shot campaign for the general population should proceed within the different regions on 27 November.


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