Half of all people living in Belgium has now received a coronavirus booster dose, as new cases continue to rapidly increase as a result of the Omicron variant.
As of Sunday, some 5.87 million people have received a booster dose of a coronavirus vaccine, representing 63% of over -18s and 51% of the entire population, according to the figures published by the Sciensano Public Health Institute on Tuesday morning.
The majority of adults should have had the opportunity to get a booster dose by March 2022. Meanwhile, more than 8.83 million people are fully vaccinated – 88% of Belgium's adult population and 77% of the total population.
Data from the United Kingdom’s Health Security Agency (UKHSA) showed that booster doses continue to provide high levels of protection against severe disease from the Omicron variant among older adults. Additional doses have been found to be 90% effective against hospitalisation around three months after being administered.
Unvaccinated people have eight times more chance of dying and ending up in hospital than those who have received both doses, according to figures from Sciensano, which analysed the data from all hospitals for the second half of October.
Rising infections, hospitalisations
Between 8 and 14 January, an average of 26,908 new coronavirus infections were identified every day – up by 33% on the previous seven days, which is still a rapid increase, but slower than the previous weeks.
The average number of tests taken per day in the same period increased by 10% since last week, sitting at around 87,026.4. The positivity rate has also increased rapidly to 33%, meaning around one in three tests undertaken are now positive.
Despite the increase in cases starting around Christmas, Covid-19 deaths remain relatively stable. During the same period, an average of 21 Covid-19 patients died per day, down 14% since last week. Total deaths in Belgium since the beginning of the pandemic is 28,661.
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Between 11 and 17 January, an average of 205 patients suffering from Covid-19 were admitted to hospitals per day – up 13% on the seven days previous.
On Monday, a total of 2,323 people were in Belgian hospitals due to an infection (145 more than on Sunday), of whom 396 (+5) are being treated in intensive care and 217 are on a ventilator (-4). Overall, a declining trend is still ongoing in the number of patients in a life-threatening condition.
The reproduction rate (Rt) has once again increased to 1.10. This figure represents the average number of people that contract the virus from each infected person, and when it is above 1, it means that the epidemic is gaining ground in Belgium.
The incidence (the number of new cases per 100,000 inhabitants) continues to rise and now sits at 2,868 over the past 14 days.
