On Monday, nearly 40,000 appointments for a booster vaccine dose were made in one day in Brussels, after authorities made the shot available for all adult residents in the Capital Region.
A total of about 320,000 Brussels residents between the ages of 18 and 64 will be eligible for a booster shot before the end of this year, said the head of the Brussels health inspectorate Inge Neven.
"From Sunday evening to Monday evening at 11:30 PM, over 39,000 appointments were made through BruVax," Neven said during a weekly press briefing on Tuesday.
On Monday, the call centre also received 13,500 calls, many of them with questions about the extra dose. Neven added that "the slots are filling up nicely for the next few weeks."
That group of 320,000 people consists of those who received their second dose of AstraZeneca's vaccine at least four months ago, or their second Pfizer or Moderna dose at least six months ago.
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The roughly 60,000 people in Brussels who initially received the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine were already eligible for a booster shot several weeks ago and have already received their extra shot or an invitation.
"We definitely have sufficient capacity so there is enough room for everyone but your appointment might not be for tomorrow," Neven said, promising that everyone should be able to book an appointment by mid-January.
Those who will only be eligible for a booster shot in January or later (as they received their second dose from Pfizer or Moderna in July or August), should be able to get an appointment "within the week," she added.
Since September, a total of 89,580 booster shots were administered in Brussels: 58% of the high-risk patients have already received an extra dose, as have 46% of the over-65s.
Additionally, 73% of adults in Brussels have received at least one dose so far – "a very good result," Neven stressed. Among the over-45s, this is now more than 80%.
How to make an appointment for a booster dose
As the authorities are also still administering first and second doses, they strongly recommend making an appointment via BruVax or the call centre on 02/214 19 19.
Between the second (or only, in the case of a J&J vaccine) and the third dose, a mandatory waiting time should be taken into account before booking an appointment, depending on which vaccine was initially administered.
For those who received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, that waiting period is two months. For AstraZeneca, it is four months after the second dose, and for Pfizer and Moderna, it is six months.
It is important to bring your ID (or residence) card and your Covid Safe Ticket or vaccination card to your appointment, in order to double-check the waiting times between doses.
