Belgium will soon also start vaccinating children from 5 to 11 years old against the coronavirus with Pfizer's vaccine, the country's various health ministers decided on Monday.
The vaccination campaign for children will run simultaneously with the booster vaccination campaign for adults. Like for the rest of the population, vaccination is not mandatory.
"The parents of all young children (aged 5 to 11) will receive a letter with an invitation to be vaccinated," Federal Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke told VRT. "The priority goes to children with certain diseases. That is not a large group and we will start sending invites right now."
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The invitations for the other children will be ready at the end of December or the beginning of January, he said.
Additionally, the Interministerial Health Conference (IMC) decided not to give priority to booster vaccinations for adults. "We are going to send the invitations for the children at the same time as the booster campaign," Vandenbroucke said.
Like for adults, vaccination is not compulsory for children. No Covid Safe Ticket (CST) will be implemented either.
"It is an important decision," Flemish Health Minister Wouter Beke said. "I understand the questions of parents, and we feel it is important to explain this decision properly."
We hebben beslist om ook 5- tot 11-jarigen de mogelijkheid te geven om zich te laten vaccineren tegen het coronavirus. Ik begrijp de vragen van ouders, en we vinden het belangrijk om deze beslissing goed uit te leggen. Meer informatie vindt u op https://t.co/hgmmGL5DxH #IMC
— Wouter Beke (@wbeke) December 20, 2021
"To be extra clear, it concerns a modified paediatric vaccine that has been specially adapted for children," he stressed. "With the paediatricians, we are going to see which children will be first in line."
Children will receive a lower dose of 10 micrograms, compared to 30 micrograms for adults. As in adults, they will get two shots in their upper arm, three weeks apart.
More information about the decision can be found here.
