As of today, Tuesday 6th April, anyone in Belgium aged over 18 can register on the reserve list for Covid-19 vaccinations. The list offers registered people last minute vaccination appointments at their local centre, as extra doses become available due to no shows etc. It will be used by centres in an effort to avoid wasted vaccines, and all adults are able to register, although most twenty somethings will have to wait longer than older people.
1. How to sign up
- Register via the qvax website using your Identification Number of the National Register to create an account (located on the reverse of your Belgian ID card).
- Indicate on which days/times of days you are available and how you can be contacted, preferably by text. (You can change this information later if necessary.)
- You will then be invited once your priority or age group is being vaccinated.
- When invited you must respond within 30 minutes or your slot will be offered to somebody else.
- After you have had your first jab, an appointment for your second jab will also be made if necessary.
2. The benefits of the vaccination list
As vaccine supplies increase, more doses risk being wasted so the registration list will hopefully minimise this waste. Some vaccination centres already have their own reserve or waiting list in place, and will be able to continue using these alongside the national list. However the vaccination task group is confident that the national reserve website will eventually replace local initiatives, which may differ slightly from place to place. The national reserve list is already being used this week in Roeselare and Deinze, as well as by vaccination centres in Brussels and Wallonia, where people are not bound to their local vaccination centre.
So far over 1.5 million people in Belgium have been vaccinated. Vaccinations in care homes are virtually complete and most hospital staff have also been offered the jab. Currently, vaccination efforts are focused on first line health care workers, ambulatory care nurses, GPs, dentists and over 65s living at home. This month will see the start of vaccination of patients in health risk groups aged under 65, starting as always with the oldest members of the group.
