Belgium will begin vaccinating people with Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine on January 18, media reported on Wednesday, citing the cabinet of Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke
BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th January, 2021) Belgium will begin vaccinating people with Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine on January 18, media reported on Wednesday, citing the cabinet of Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke.
Earlier in January, the European Medicines Agency announced its decision to recommend granting conditional marketing authorization to the vaccine against coronavirus developed by US pharma company Moderna.
According to the Belga news agency, medical staff at a number of hospitals in Brussels, Flanders and Wallonia will be able to get a shot of the Moderna vaccine starting Monday.
The media reported that 8,000 doses of the vaccine had been delivered to Belgium this week, and 13,000 doses are expected to arrive the next. Another 31,000 will arrive after February 1 and 94,000 after February 15.
On January 5, the country began its mass vaccination campaign with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine against the coronavirus. The first to receive shots are residents and staff of nursing homes. During the second stage, medical workers are expected to receive vaccines.
According to the Sciensano national public health institute, Belgium saw an increase of 27 percent in the number of new coronavirus infections per day in the first week of January, with the daily average standing at 2,020. The authorities have ordered the extension of the current coronavirus lockdown measures until the further decision of the Consultative Committee, which is responsible for the COVID-19 crisis management in Belgium.
