To be eligible for a vaccine against monkey pox it is no longer necessary to prove that you have had a sexually transmitted disease (STD). The referral letter from the doctor also expires as a result. This is apparent from the advice of the Risk Management Group.
‘This is a good thing, to organize the vaccination in a much more accessible way’, says Crevits. ‘The strategy and organization for Flanders will be adjusted in the coming days.’
Although the number of monkey pox infections seems to have stagnated in recent weeks, new infections are still being added every week. In Flanders, 394 people have been infected with the virus since the start of the outbreak, mainly men in the age group of 20 to 59 years who have sex with men.
A pilot project was therefore started in Antwerp on Thursday in which people can be vaccinated preventively against monkey pox. The predefined target group for the pilot project are men who have sex with men and who have had at least 1 STD in the past year.