Belgium considers U-turn on Oxford vaccine for over-55s

People over the age of 55 in Belgium could be given the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, as the government seeks to "reset" its heavily criticised vaccination programme.

Belgium joined Germany, France, Poland and Italy last month in only giving the vaccine to younger groups due to a comparative lack of data on its efficacy in the older age ranges in the Oxford/AstraZeneca clinical trials, reports the BBC.

But images of empty vaccination centres and reports of untouched stockpiles of doses lying in fridges has led to an outcry over the slow progress in administering vaccines, with the country also suffering a rise in infections.

Hospital admissions on Sunday were up 44% on last week, according to provisional figures. Just 6.96% of the Belgian population has received a jab, compared with 30.14% in the UK. The average proportion given a vaccine across the EU's 27 member states is 7.26%.

Frank Vandenbroucke, the Belgian federal minister of health, said the government would take advice on Wednesday from its chief scientists and regional leaders "on the strategy and on the operational problems".

"I really want a reset of the campaign," he said. "There are hiccups that absolutely must be resolved and which are not acceptable. There are delays in the process which are not acceptable."

The government is looking at rethinking its previous policy that the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine should only be give to people under the age of 55.