Vaccination against Covid-19 will not be carried out either at general practitioners or in pharmacies, said Jean-Michel Dogné, an expert with the Federal Agency for Medicines and Health Products (FAMHP), on Tuesday.
This is due to a matter of infrastructure, traceability and proper use of the vaccine for groups at risk, Dogné told the medical journals Medi-Sphere and Le Spécialiste.
The first vaccine to be delivered will in theory be that of AstraZeneca, he said, adding that 1.2 million doses are planned in Belgium. These vaccines will not be supplied in "single doses". "We are talking about a minimum of packaging for 10 people," the expert explained.
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The question of storage is also important. According to the different vaccines developed in parallel, "some will require storage systems that can go down to -80°C.” An adequate infrastructure in a suitable centre is therefore essential.
A task force is currently working on this at the Belgian level, Dogné said. The Communities, which are responsible for prevention and vaccines, are working on setting up this vaccination campaign. The federal government, for its part, is responsible for marketing authorisation.
The High Council of Health has estimated that priority should be given to vaccinating health professionals in the broadest sense of the term, accounting for around 500,000 people.
"The first vaccination campaign in March will therefore be reserved as a priority for them. It will require two doses per person, i.e. one million," the specialist points out.
Finally, Dogné drew attention to the importance of not repeating "the same mistakes as for the flu vaccine, which was recently given to people who were not given priority."
The Brussels Times
