Monkeypox: Belgians forced to travel to France to get vaccinated

Belgians traveled to France in order to get vaccinated against monkeypox, as there is a lack of doses in their country, RTBF reported.

Faced with the lack of available doses, conditions for access to the monkeypox vaccine are restricted in Belgium.

Sex workers, people who contracted two sexually transmitted infections in the past year and those who can prove sexual intercourse with a partner who tested positive are those allowed to get vaccinated at the moment, along with a few other special cases.

Strict limits that some Belgians therefore try to overcome by coming to be vaccinated in France, where access is open to all men who have sex with other men, as well as to transgender people.

According to the Belgian daily Le Soir, only 3,000 doses are currently available in the country, pending a new delivery of 30,000 doses scheduled for October.

Beligium has so far recorded 482 monkeypox cases including 28 hospitalizations.