Flanders will be able to vaccinate everyone in Flanders who wants to before the start of the summer, Flemish Minister-President Jan Jambon announced during a press conference on Wednesday.
If the pharmaceutical companies continue to produce and deliver sufficient vaccines, "this will enable us to give all Flemish people who wish to do so at least one shot before the start of the summer holidays," Jambon said. "And who knows, maybe even more."
However, this does not mean that it will be a summer like before the virus broke out, he said. "It will probably take a little longer, but there is hope. There is light at the end of the tunnel."
"The aim is to administer the vaccines as quickly as possible to as many people as possible," Jambon said. "And that is a huge task."
The delivery of the various vaccines, however, remains an uncertain factor, since the producers cannot deliver the same number of doses every week. Nevertheless, 34,500 people in Flanders have already been vaccinated so far, which is more than expected.
"We have started the new year hopeful, and there are more and more positive sounds coming from the vaccination front," Jambon said.
Belgium has been allocated more vaccines by Pfizer-BioNTech than originally thought, and from next week onwards, the Moderna vaccine will also make its appearance in a series of hospitals.
Later on, more vaccines will be added from Johnson&Johnson, AstraZeneca and CureVac, which will make this possible, according to Jambon.
Maïthé Chini
The Brussels Times
