On Wednesday, the infectious disease expert from Hôpitaux Robert Schuman and one of the members of the government's expert group was a guest on RTL Radio to discuss the potential introduction of a vaccine mandate for people over the age of 50.
Dr Schockmel stressed that now is the time to prepare for a potentially severe infection wave in autumn/winter. For this reason, the expert group decided to recommend the introduction of a vaccine mandate for people over the age of 50.
A sectorial vaccine mandate for people working in the healthcare sector cannot be justified at the moment, seeing as the current generation of vaccines do not grant enough protection from contracting the virus. However, Dr Schockmel added that the expert group is "not happy about this," because of the "very low" vaccination rate among hospital and retirement home staff. As such, the infectious disease expert clarified that the decision against a sectorial vaccine mandate is not a decision against a recommendation to get vaccinated.
"Vaccination remains the best preventative measure against Covid-19," Dr Schockmel stressed, adding that "it cannot be replaced by anything else". He explained that vaccination grants a "base immunity" that lasts for years. Someone who has never been vaccinated, on the other hand, has no protection. An infection can be considered a "good booster," Dr Schockmel acknowledged, stating that the best protection is "vaccinated and recovered". A fourth dose is recommended for immunocompromised individuals and those over the age of 70.
Dr Schockmel expects the government "to do what they said they would do" and thus implement the experts' recommendations "as soon as possible". The infectious disease expert described it as "a shame" that "so much time has already been wasted" that could have been used to prepare for the next wave. "But it is never too late," he added.
The expert group is also in favour of introducing a pandemic law, which would allow measures such as a mask mandate on public transport to be implemented more quickly when the situation requires it.
Compared to the Delta variant, the current Omicron variants are "fairly harmless," Dr Schockmel explained. People also spend a lot more time outdoors during summer. However, the infectious disease expert warned that a more dangerous variant can always emerge, and that the country must be ready if this happens.
