The second phase of the Luxembourg vaccination campaign has launched, with people over 75 and "highly vulnerable" adults being invited to get their shot over the next weeks.
Subsequent phases will similarly combine specific age groups and people with specific health conditions.
While the government has access to citizens' age, they have no information on individuals' health. This means patients have to be contacted by their health practitioners, with cancer patients for instance getting their invitation from the hospital treating them.
Additionally, a system is being developed allowing doctors to register their patients for the vaccine, explained Luc Feller, High Commissioner for National Protection in an interview on RTL. If someone falls into the category that is currently being vaccinated, their GP can simply enter their social security number into a database to sign them up.
This does mean that patients need to contact their GP to request this, but this can be done via a remote consultation.
As vaccines are still rare and precious, care is taken to avoid wasting even a single dose, says Luc Feller. Pharmacies and vaccination centres prepare just enough doses for the number of people expected. If there are short notice cancellations or people don't turn up, there is a system in place to offer these vaccines to other high priority people. But this does not happen often.
The AstraZeneca vaccine is also easier to store. Using this over the last hour or so each day means leftover doses can still be used the next day.
Patients don't get to choose the type of vaccine they will get. This is decided by the doctor doing the preliminary examination on the basis of the guidance by the manufacturer and the superior council of infectious diseases.
