This is the solution that some Belgians have found to get vaccinated against monkeypox, despite the lack of doses in their country: cross the border to go to French vaccination centers, reports RTBF (Belgian French-Speaking Radio Television) .
Given the lack of available doses, the conditions for access to the monkeypox vaccine are restricted in Belgium: sex workers, people who have contracted two sexually transmitted infections in the last year and those who can prove a sexual relationship with a partner who has tested positive are the only ones who can be vaccinated at the moment, as well as some other special cases.
Strict limits that some Belgians therefore try to overcome by coming to France to be vaccinated, where access is open to all men who have sex with men, as well as transgender people.
Only 3000 doses available in Belgium
Some, for example, took advantage of a walk-in vaccination day organized on Saturday at a center in Lille.
“We are walking on our heads. Today, vaccination in Belgium does not seem to be a priority. We wonder if there are means in Belgium to be able to vaccinate the population more widely. It is incredible to have to drive more than an hour to be able to come and get vaccinated” , laments to RTBF a member of the ASBL Ex-aequo, which promotes the health of homosexuals.
For her part, the director of the Lille vaccination center, Karima Chouai, declares that “Belgians will be welcome, but they will not necessarily be a priority”, since the center was opened for the first time for Lille residents. However, according to the Belgian press agency, “about 90% of those vaccinated on Saturday in Lille came from Belgium.”
According to the Belgian newspaper The nightCurrently, only 3,000 doses are available in the country, pending a new delivery of 30,000 doses scheduled for October. Currently, the number of monkeypox cases stands at 482, including 28 hospitalizations.
Source: BFM TV
