It is now an intruder in the long list of countries that have stored their doses of AstraZeneca.
Belgium has decided to maintain its vaccination campaign, pending the opinion of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on Thursday.
The regulator must rule on possible side effects, in particular bleeding, which precipitated the cessation of vaccination in about fifteen countries, including France.
Suspensions that the Belgian authorities denounce as "political" decisions, both by recalling the importance of the benefit / risk of this vaccine.
Far from wanting to play the rebels, Belgium, where two cases of thrombosis have been reported, on the contrary follows the opinions of major institutions: the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) , who currently recommend continuing to administer the AstraZeneca vaccine.
“We should not make emotional and political decisions.
These are public health issues.
We have always trusted doctors.
We trust them.
If on Thursday the European Medicines Agency tells us to suspend, we will suspend.
We will base ourselves on medical facts.
The European Medicines Agency told us again yesterday that we must continue.
We are continuing, ”insisted Christie Morreale the Walloon Minister of Health on the subject this Tuesday on Belgian radio RTL.
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Seven countries on Monday extended the list of countries having suspended the administration of the vaccine from the Swedish-British laboratory as a precaution due to side effects, such as difficulty in coagulating or the formation of clots (thrombosis).
Sweden, Luxembourg and Cyprus followed suit on Tuesday.
"There is nothing worse than adding uncertainty"
On the side of Belgian general practitioners, we applaud the authorities' decision.
“This is a reassuring response for people who need to be vaccinated.
And there is nothing worse than adding uncertainty.
Especially since the WHO recommends continuing vaccination, so countries that choose to stop using the WHO a little when they want, ”says Thomas Orban, general practitioner and president of the Scientific Society of General Medicine.
In view of the epidemic situation in the country, the Belgian authorities have no time to waste.
In a press conference given on Tuesday, Yves Van Laethem, infectious disease specialist turned interfederal spokesperson confirmed: "The figures are going in the wrong direction".
The milestone of 500 people in intensive care has just been passed in the country, for the first time since December 2020.
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Disturbing figures, coupled with a stammering vaccination campaign.
As of March 7, some 341,000 people only, or less than 3% of the population, had been completely vaccinated with two injections, recalls the newspaper Le Monde.
One of the weakest performances in Europe, according to the ranking established by the University of Oxford.
A brake would therefore be unwelcome, points out Eric Muraille, biologist, immunologist and researcher at the FNRS, research associate at the Free University of Brussels (ULB).
“We had a lot of organizational problems with the logistics of summoning people.
It's very complicated to organize this, especially in Belgium with the territorial mille-feuille.
Canceling or postponing is very complicated ”.
An assumed risk / benefit policy
Especially since, unlike other countries, Belgium relies particularly on AstraZeneca.
“If we spare the hesitation to reassure, I understand.
This is another communication and I am not typing on any decision.
But in many countries, AstraZeneca is used less, so there are fewer consequences, ”recalls Eric Muraille.
Another argument, according to the scientist, to justify the continuation of the injections: that of the benefit / risk.
“It's something that is difficult to convey to the public.
But all vaccination campaigns, historically, are calculated on the benefit / risk, a vaccine still has side effects in some people.
[…] If you have 30 deaths attributed to the anti-Covid vaccine out of five million doses injected in Europe, and 24 deaths per day in Belgium, the benefit far outweighs the cost, ”he underlines.
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A policy assumed by the government.
“I'm not saying that all other countries are wrong, but that the balance between not getting vaccinated and protecting yourself from Covid is clear and sharp.
I remind you that we are in a race against time.
It is not a political but health debate, underlined the Minister of Health, Frank Vandenbroucke on the RTBF.
Stopping while waiting for the report from the European authorities would be irresponsible ”.
And the government can for the moment be reassured about the adopted strategy.
The European regulator confirmed its position on Tuesday.
"We remain firmly convinced that the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine in preventing Covid-19, with its associated risk of hospitalization and death, outweigh the risk of these side effects," said the executive director of the 'EMA Emer Cooke on a video conference.