In Brussels, in the previous week, the EMA-European Medicines Agency has given approval to Pfizer’s vaccine as a booster dose for teenagers.
As per the information provided by the sources, the age group of 12 to 17-year-olds of the Brussels-Capital Region and Wallonia will have to wait for some time before they can get the shot.
The health minister of Belgium was not able to fulfil the objective of the country-wide agreement on providing the booster shots to the teenagers at the beginning of February month.
Flanders decided to proceed independently further as Brussels and Wallonia awaited formal EMA advice, which arrived on Thursday, February 24.
Inge Neven of the Brussels Health Inspectorate, “Now that there is official EMA approval, we are awaiting advice from Belgium’s Superior Health Council on the boosters.” That information will be available soon, most certainly by the end of this week.
She further mentioned, “If the Council also issues a recommendation on offering booster doses to teenagers, a decision will then be made for the whole country at the Interministerial Conference (IMC) on Health, with all of Belgium’s health ministers.”
Along with this, she made the estimation that a final decision could be made in the coming week.
For now, teenagers in Flanders have been able to get a shot for around a month, but they will not receive an invitation as well as they have to sign an ‘informed consent form.
However, they state that they are aware of the fact that Belgium has not yet recommended the booster for that age group but merely offers it.
Belgium’s Superior Health Council has decided not to give booster shots to this age group that something that its Dutch equivalent did the early previous month.
Before the EMA provided its advice, the Netherland’s Health Council decided that a booster dose would only have “Minimal health gains’ for this group.”
