Belgium: Prime Minister de Croix opposes compulsory vaccination

His opposition to his idea compulsory vaccination expresses, among others, his prime minister Belgium, Alexander de Croix, in a full-length interview with the French-language newspaper Le Soir, published today, with a headline on the front page: “De Croix says no to compulsory vaccination”.

About a year after taking office as Prime Minister of Belgium and a few weeks before the Brussels Health Pass was implemented due to a low vaccination rate against covid, De Cru stresses that the measures in force in Belgium are less restrictive than in other countries, such as France or Germany, and this is due to the high vaccination rates in the country. “We are among the top three countries in Europe,” he said, noting that Belgium produces vaccines for the whole world, 630 million doses, forty times more than the country has used. “Vaccinated people are happy, they feel protected. But we must depoliticize, de-ideologize the debates… Freedom is never something purely individual. “I do not share this perception, practically selfish,” said Alexandre de Croix.

Asked how the vaccination rate could be increased where it remains low, the Belgian prime minister said there was no single way. “It’s a difficult job… Some people are worried, they hear a lot of stories, sometimes they are scared, etc. We have to reassure them, explain to them. I am convinced that the solution is to do it in different ways… “.

Regarding the application of the health certificate, De Crowe answers: “We must use all the means in Brussels to push for the vaccination, because there is a risk that things will turn out badly. Can you imagine a new lockdown in Brussels, the European capital, which is preparing to make a fresh start? “However, it is not really necessary in Flanders, nor in Wallonia, where the vaccination rate is high.”

Asked if he was in favor of a health certificate, de Croix replied: “I have never been a big fan, I have said it many times, but here, at some point, the public good counts, beyond my personal beliefs. I have the impression that the debate has become very ideological, when human health must come first. We need to push people towards vaccination. When I visited a mobile vaccination unit in Saint-Gilles a few days ago, they explained to me: “Yes, I will”, then I said: “Why not now? The bus is there. ” Answer: “Yes, but no, in two or three months I will have to take the plane, so I will…” Others say to themselves confidently: “I wash my hands”… This is false security. A 35-year-old woman died of a coronavirus in Brussels… “.

Asked if vaccination should be made compulsory, de Croix replied: “I know, some people say, ‘You just have to make vaccination compulsory.'” This is a theoretical solution. Pure rhetoric. There are currently two countries around the world where this is the case, Micronesia and Turkmenistan. Why ; Why, what, how do you do it in practice? Will you set up checkpoints on the road? And if people refuse will you put them in jail? They say to me: “Yes, but the vaccine is mandatory for polio”… But this, is practically at birth, here how do you do it? And this will give arguments to those who hesitate: “You see, you can not convince us, so you force us!” “No, this is a completely rhetorical and theoretical solution. “I’m not saying this to move a finger, I’re saying that instead of wasting our energy in a discussion with no real result, it would be more useful to dedicate ourselves to the arduous work I told you about.”

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