As Belgium begins to lift some of its restrictions on the closure period, Prime Minister Alexander De Croo stressed that vaccinations remain a key to leaving the pandemic.
“It is very clear that vaccination is crucial,” De Croo said Friday when he announced the plan to close.
“There is really no real exit plan,” he said, “the right exit plan that is the vaccination plan.”
From March 8, people can meet with up to ten others outside, but social distancing measures must still be followed and the face mask must be continued.
The prime ministers’ comments on the importance of vaccination come because the Belgian Order of Physicians – a body in which all doctors must be registered to practice medicine – warned that it would take a stricter approach to doctors who had the effect of coronavirus vaccines.
“Doctors have taken ‘serious action against the dissemination of information, mostly through social media’, which does not conform to current scientific knowledge, ‘said the order’s vice-president, dr. Michel Deneyer told CNN on Friday.
Dr. Deneyer warned that “disinformation could have disastrous consequences” and that “there is no doubt that doctors will have to work together for the planned vaccination program.”
‘The success of the Belgian vaccination campaign and the achievement of the national target of vaccinating 70% of the adult population depends a lot on the (lasting) trust of the population and of the medical corps,’ he said.
‘The population relies a lot on the family doctor, the pharmacist, the experts. Their advice is being followed, ”Deneyer added.
Any doctor who disseminates disinformation will face one of the ten local “provincial councils” before a disciplinary hearing, and he could face up to two months’ suspension, he explained.
Deneyer said some doctors have already been suspended, but could not confirm the exact numbers, with confidential references.