24 December 2020: Vaccine adoption is the next challenge

24 December 2020: Update on The Corona Pandemic – The pandemic in Belgium seems to be more or less under control with the latest figures showing a slight increase in the number of new confirmed cases, while hospitalisations remain stable and deaths edged lower. But overall, the numbers are still way too high. There are 2,560 patients being treated in hospital for Covid of which 539 are receiving ICU care and on average 2,523 people a day are testing positive over the last week. The good news is that the overwhelming majority of the Belgian population is following the rules. Also, three-quarters of them say that they will stick to corona restrictions during the festive period. Let’s hope we will do better than that. With the first coronavirus vaccines developed by Pfizer and BioNTech leaving Pfizer's factory in Puurs, Belgium and the Moderna vaccine scheduled to receiving authorization by the EMA in the second half of January, we now must turn our attention to the next challenge ahead of us: supporting people in vaccine adoption. In Belgium a survey revealed that 60% of people say they are prepared to get vaccinated, 25% are still hesitating, while 15% won’t get the jab. The difference between 60% of Belgians and 70% getting vaccinated could mean saving a lot of lives. Today’s picture is another vignette of downtown Ghent during these unprecedented times – Ghent, Belgium.