Health Minister Frank Vandenbroek (Forweet) on Saturday signed a contract with the Danish-Bavarian pharmaceutical company Nordic to buy 30,000 vaccines that could be used to combat the monkeypox virus. They will be delivered from the fall.
The vaccines purchased bilaterally are in addition to the stockpile of more than 3,000 doses the federal government has received from the European Union. It is currently administered in the country’s nine reference centers for people who have had high-risk contact with infected people, such as sexual partners.
The Health Superior Council recommends vaccination for people at high risk. Due to the limited number of vaccines available and the uncertainty about future deliveries, strict requirements for immunization are currently being set.
By purchasing 30,000 third-generation vaccines from Jynneos, another 15,000 people could be protected. This currently includes people already receiving PrEP treatment for HIV and health workers at reference centers, but advice will still be required from the Supreme Health Council.
Barring production setbacks, the first shipment of 10,000 doses can be delivered in the fall. “Awareness is being raised as much as possible, but at the same time the numbers continue to rise and we have to be well prepared. Once we receive the additional doses, hopefully early in the fall, we will be able to invite more people at risk for vaccination,” Vandenbroek explains in a statement. Saturday press.
According to the latest balance of the Sciensano Health Institute on July 11, 224 confirmed cases of the virus and one suspected case have already been recorded in Belgium: 125 in Flanders, 76 in Brussels and 24 in Wallonia. Right now, it’s all about guys between the ages of 20 and 65.
