Belgium begins Covid-19 vaccinations

Today is the day people will start getting the corona vaccine in Belgium. Residents of three nursing homes across the country will be the first in line.

At 11 a.m., vaccinations will take place at Sint-Pieters care facility in the Flemish town of Puurs-Sint-Amands, at Notre Dame de Stockel center in Woluwe-Saint-Pierre in Brussels, and at La Bonne Maison de Bouzanton in the Walloon town of Mons. The service is free of charge but not mandatory.

The vaccine manufactured by Pfizer and BioNTech requires two shots to take full effect. The second dose will be injected 21 days after the first. Belgium plans to secure about 33 million vaccines worth €279 million.

Made in Belgium

The Covid-19 vaccine currently in use was produced right here in Belgium. Pfizer developed the product from a laboratory located in the remote town of Puurs in Antwerp.

The start of vaccinations in Belgium comes one day after the European Union launched its mass vaccination program.