Credit: MSAN

Luxembourg's Ministry of Health has confirmed that mobile vaccination teams have administered COVID-19 vaccinations in 87 accommodation structures.

As part of the national vaccine rollout campaign, mobile teams played a major role in ensuring vaccination in accommodation structures, particularly those for the elderly and for people with disabilities.

By extension, and depending on government decisions, mobile vaccination teams may at any time be called upon to intervene in other structures, as has already been the case in prisons.

Since the start of the vaccination campaign, mobile teams have intervened in 87 structures. In the 85 accommodation structures, more than 6,000 residents have now received their first and second doses of the vaccine. In the coming weeks, the mobile teams will be returning to certain care homes to vaccinate staff members, as well as to the two prisons (second doses).

To date, the mobile vaccination teams have vaccinated nearly 10,000 people, 8,000 of whom have already received the second dose.

The number of mobile teams is adapted to the needs of vaccination according to official recommendations. It depends on the vaccination strategy, the availability of vaccines and the mission needs to be expected. Up to four mobile teams per day are operational, each consisting of a medical officer-team leader and an administrative / logistics assistant from the Luxembourg Army, the Grand-Ducal Fire and Rescue Corps (Corps grand-ducal d'incendie et de secours - CGDIS) or the Customs and Excise Agency.

The missions of the mobile teams consist in providing the structure within which vaccination is planned with organisational and IT support, vaccines, as well as their preparation and injection equipment, and first aid equipment. Their main challenge is to vaccinate all of the designated structures as quickly as possible.

A coordination unit specifically dedicated to the management of the mobile teams is responsible for establishing the schedules of the vaccination missions, sending the structures the vaccination mission file, to serve as a link between the structure, the mobile teams, the reserve health, general coordination and the steering committee or to manage the retro-planning of each vaccination mission and to prepare it.

The coordination unit ensures the day-to-day organisation of vaccination missions, which take place under the joint supervision of the medical officer-team leader and the director of the structure according to a standardised protocol that can be adapted according to the specific needs of each structure and vaccine recommendations.

The planning of the next mobile vaccination team missions will depend on demands and needs, although several projects are under development.