The annual flu campaign, which raises awareness among people to get vaccinated against the flu, starts Saturday. At-risk groups who get vaccinated will receive immediate reimbursement from the NIHDI, which means they will only have to pay the €4 co-payment at the pharmacy.
The annual seasonal flu vaccination campaign starts on 15 October. Especially high-risk patients are advised to get vaccinated. Since this summer, pharmacists can deliver flu vaccines immediately without a prescription, which is now anchored in Belgian legislation.
People can therefore collect the vaccine without a prescription before consulting a GP to administer the vaccine. "In order to prevent the flu and coronaviruses from circulating together this winter, it is important to push strongly for vaccination," echoed Koen Straetmans, president of the General Pharmaceutical Association.
"Previously, the patient first had to go to the doctor for a prescription and then pick up the vaccine from the pharmacist. Now the patient can pick up the flu vaccine immediately at the pharmacy. That shortened patient pathway is already well established among the general public."
Flu expected to circulate strongly this winter
According to Straetmans, the severity of the flu virus is sometimes underestimated. "It is very important that as many at-risk people as possible get vaccinated in time, because the flu virus can hit them hard. People sometimes end up in hospital and people also die every year because of the flu virus."
Sciensano expects the flu virus to circulate strongly this winter and that many people will be susceptible to the virus as there have been relatively few flu cases in the past two years.
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December to March are the months where the flu is most prominent. As long as the number of infections has not peaked, vaccination remains useful. After the flu shot, it takes two weeks to get optimal protection. The vaccine provides protection for six months.
