The Brussels-Capital Region will start administering Novavax vaccines to people who are allergic to the other available vaccines, among others, from Tuesday 1 March.
Some 50,000 doses of the Novavax vaccine, which is an alternative to the mRNA vaccines like Pfizer and Moderna, will be available in hospitals and four vaccination centres in the region from next week, said Inge Neven of the Brussels Health Inspectorate.
"Primarily, they are for people who are allergic to the mRNA vaccines of Pfizer and Moderna," Neven said during a weekly press briefing on Tuesday. It concerns people who have not been vaccinated because they have been identified as allergic after undergoing some tests in an allergy centre.
They will be invited for the Novavax shot, along with those who did get their first dose of a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine and had a severe allergic reaction to it.
"Additionally, we want to give a chance to those who have not yet been vaccinated because they are a bit afraid of the new technology of mRNA vaccines and want to base themselves more on the older and more familiar technology used for the Novavax vaccine," Neven said, explaining that similar technology has also been used for other types of vaccines in the past.
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In that group, the focus will be on the 24% of healthcare workers in Brussels who have not been vaccinated, said Neven. "They will receive an invitation to be vaccinated at the hospital, where we will make no distinction between Brussels residents and non-Brussels residents."
After that, all other Brussels residents over 18 years old who have not yet been vaccinated can also go to one of the four centres offering the shot: Anderlecht, Forest, Molenbeek and Pacheco.
"From 1 March, they will be making the vaccine available on specific days. As of today, an appointment can be made via the call centre to reserve a Novavax vaccine," she added. All information about when which vaccines will be available in which centra can be found on coronavirus.brussels from the end of this week. From then on, appointments can also be made in Bruvax.
Currently, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has not yet approved the Novavax vaccine for booster doses, but Neven expects that approval will come in the coming weeks or months.
"We are still sticking to two doses of the vaccines for now, but once the booster is approved, the intention is to also offer these people a third dose," she said. "But discussions are still ongoing on whether that extra dose would be Novavax or an mRNA vaccine."
