People who have not yet received an invitation to get vaccinated but think they are part of the priority group of high-risk patients, still have until Wednesday to be put on the list by their GP.
While 78% of the estimated 1.5 million people at an increased risk of contracting severe Covid-19 in Belgium have already received their first dose, some of them have not been invited or vaccinated yet because GPs can still add new patients, such as pregnant women or people who were not listed by their health insurance funds, to the priority list.
However, that list will be closed on Wednesday, meaning GPs or other specialists will no longer be able to add patients, according to Dirk Ramaekers of the Vaccination Taskforce.
The list would "lose its usefulness in the coming weeks anyway, as young people from the general population will systematically be getting their shot now," he explained during a press briefing on Saturday.
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"We are very proud of our unique approach," Ramaerkers said. "Using data from the health insurance funds and general practitioners, we managed to detect and invite people with an underlying risk fairly quickly."
According to figures by the Taskforce, more than three-quarters of them accepted the invitation and have received at least one shot by now.
"At the moment, the graphs are levelling off, but that is logical in the final phase. Our final ambition is [to vaccinate] at least 80%, and that is realistic," he added. "An 80% vaccination rate is quite high by international comparison."
Reaching a higher rate, which is the case for the over-65s with at least 90%, would "of course be very welcome," Ramaekers added.
People who think they are at a higher risk because they suffer from one of the conditions listed here, can check if they are on the list to get a priority vaccination on myhealthviewer.be.
People who are at risk, but are not on the website’s list, should contact their GP before Wednesday. If they are on the list, but did not receive an invitation, they should contact their local vaccination centre.
