This vaccination, facilitated by a first delivery, made this Thursday, of 3,040 doses of Jynneos vaccine, will be possible in one of the nine reference centers in the country.
This vaccination should ideally take place within four days of contact. People not vaccinated against classic smallpox should receive two doses, at least 28 days apart, Mr. Vandenbroucke (Vooruit) said in a statement.
“People who think they may benefit from the vaccination are recommended to contact their general practitioner or specialist, who will examine with the reference center whether they are entitled to it. Given the limited number of vaccines and the current uncertainties regarding additional deliveries, this vaccination will be carried out under strict conditions,” said the minister.
According to him, Belgium already had 200 doses of the Imvanex vaccine from the Danish company Bavarian Nordic. This vaccine has been authorized in the European Union against classical smallpox, but it can also be used against monkeypox.
Mr Vandenbroucke confirmed the delivery to Belgium of 3,040 doses of Jynneos vaccine, the American version of the Imvanex vaccine – announced earlier today to the Belga agency by the office of the European Commissioner for Health, Stella Kyriakides.
The recently created European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) purchased these vaccines for the EU (110,000 doses). The first deliveries will be made in countries with relatively high numbers of cases, including Spain, Germany, Portugal and Belgium.
People who can be vaccinated must fall into three categories:
– healthcare workers after high-risk contact without protection (e.g. prolonged face-to-face contact, wound in contact with bodily fluids of an infected patient, exposure to aerosols);
– immunocompromised people after high-risk contact (such as an infected member of the same household or sharing clothing, bedding, or cooking utensils with a patient with a rash);
– people after very high-risk contact (such as sexual contact, prolonged skin-to-skin contact with someone with a rash or sore).
The vaccine is ideally administered within four days of exposure, the statement said.
In principle, people vaccinated against classic smallpox do not receive a new vaccine, except in the event of a disorder of the immune system.