8 April 2021: Belgium will temporarily only administer AstraZeneca’s vaccine to over 55s

8 April 2021: The number of patients being treated for Covid in intensive care during the third wave has reached a new high.  Meanwhile the average number of new cases continues to fall. During the week from 29 March to 4 April an average of 4,243 people tested positive for SARCoV-2. The figure is down 12% on the week. 3,167 patients are currently in hospital with Covid.  The figure is up 14% on the week. 893 are in intensive care. Yesterday, the EMA stated that a possible link was found between AstraZeneca’s vaccine and very rare cases of blood clotting. Although the European agency stressed that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks and that based on the current data, no specific risk factors (such as age or gender) could be identified, and therefore, did not recommend any measures such as an age limit, the Belgian government decided to suspend the use of AstraZeneca’s vaccine for people younger than 55. With this decision Belgium joins France in banning the use of AstraZeneca on under 55s, at least for a month.  In Germany and the Netherlands the vaccine is reserved for over 60s.The minister of health claims that the impact of the decision on the rollout of the vaccination campaign will be minimal. On the other hand, I think that the decision means that I’ll have a couple of weeks more to document Ghent in all its facets – Gentbruggestraat, Ghent, Belgium