Pharmacists will be able to administer the flu vaccine from 1 October, alongside general practitioners, according to Belgium's health authorities.
Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke, who initiated the measure, said the aim was to increase vaccination coverage, which is still too low in Belgium, particularly for certain high-risk groups.
Pharmacists had already been involved in the Covid-19 vaccination campaign in Winter 2022. At that time, it was also possible to go to a pharmacist to be vaccinated against influenza, without a prescription from a general practitioner.
For Winter 2023, the World Health Organisation and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control recommend combining a booster campaign for the Covid-19 vaccine with vaccination against influenza.
Belgium's health authorities, the Conseil Supérieur de la Santé and Conférence Interministérielle Santé Publique, have followed this recommendation.
From 1 October to 31 December, anyone who so wishes can be vaccinated against influenza and Covid-19 by pharmacists who have been trained and equipped to do so.
“In 11 European countries around us, such as France and Germany, flu vaccination by pharmacists has long been authorised," Health Minister Vandenbroucke pointed out. "We have found that vaccination coverage is higher in these countries, precisely because pharmacists have so much contact with the public.”
Presented by the Minister in early August, the bill still has to be approved by a vote in the federal parliament in the next few days before it can go into effect.
The Belgian Association of Medical Unions, Absym, has come out against the measure, saying that allowing pharmacists to administer the vaccinations was “totally unacceptable” and “devalues the high-quality work of general practitioners.”
