Amid a surge of new coronavirus cases that has led hospitals to reserve half of their intensive care unit beds for Covid-19 patients, Belgium’s federal government has finalised a draft bill to make vaccination of healthcare workers mandatory. Starting from January 1, they will have a three-month window to get their shots.
During that period, those who remain unvaccinated will be notified of a suspension of their contract unless they can provide a certificate of recovery from Covid-19 or negative tests on a regular basis, and will be temporarily unemployed. From April, workers without a proper justification for their refusal could be dismissed.—AP
