Flu vaccine 2026-2027 in Belgium: who, when, how much

20 September 2026 · updated 11 October 2026 · 9 min read

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The 2026-2027 flu vaccination campaign is aimed first at people aged 65 and over, people with a chronic condition from 6 months of age, pregnant women, healthcare workers and the household of vulnerable people. That is what advice 9897 of the Superior Health Council sets out.

This season’s news fits in one sentence: your pharmacist may now prescribe and dispense every type of flu vaccine, under the same reimbursement conditions as your doctor. Here is what the official sources say, point by point.

Key takeaways

Superior Health Council advice 9897 sets the target groups for season 2026-2027: they are identical to last season’s.
The pharmacist may prescribe and dispense every type of flu vaccine, under the same reimbursement conditions as the doctor.
The Council advises starting mid-October; the medicines agency AFMPS/FAGG recommends vaccination between mid-October and mid-December.
For a risk group the standard vaccine costs 4,08 €, or 2,45 € with increased reimbursement, according to the published reimbursement rules.
From 65, the Council recommends a high-dose or adjuvanted vaccine; both are now reimbursed without a prior request.

Want this calendar mapped onto your child's dates?Use the interactive vaccination calendar →

Who should get the flu vaccine in 2026-2027?

9897

Number of the Health Council advice for season 2026-2027

Mid-October

Recommended start of the campaign

4,08 €

Standard vaccine for a risk group

65 years

Age from which a stronger vaccine is reimbursed

The Superior Health Council publishes advice on flu vaccination every year. The one for season 2026-2027 is numbered 9897, published on 26 February 2026 and updated on 1 April 2026.

Its target groups are identical to last season’s. Only the recommended vaccine type and the reimbursement arrangements have moved, and that is where this campaign’s news sits.

Target group	What advice 9897 sets out
65 and over	Recommended with or without a risk factor, with a stronger vaccine.
Chronic condition, from 6 months of age	Lung, heart (excluding isolated hypertension), liver or kidney disease; metabolic disease including diabetes; neurological or neuromuscular disease; immune deficiency; BMI of 40 or above.
Pregnant women	Recommended whatever the stage of the pregnancy.
People living in an institution	Recommended for residents.
Healthcare workers	Inside and outside care institutions.
Household of a person at risk	Cocooning strategy, including the household of an infant under 6 months whose mother was not vaccinated during pregnancy.
Children aged 6 months to 18 years on aspirin	Chronic acetylsalicylic acid treatment.
Occupational contact with poultry and pigs	Professional breeders, members of their household and anyone in occupational contact with those live animals.

Between 18 and 65, outside those groups, the Council asks for a case-by-case assessment. For people aged 50 to 65 it asks that smoking, excessive alcohol consumption and obesity with a BMI of 30 or above be taken into account.

This guide describes season 2026-2027. The Council republishes its advice every year and reimbursement conditions can change: check the current season before making an appointment.

Source : Superior Health Council: advice 9897, seasonal influenza 2026-2027 ↗BCFI/CBIP: the new Health Council advice for 2026-2027 ↗vaccination-info.be: influenza ↗

When should you get vaccinated against flu?

The Council advises starting vaccination in mid-October. The Flemish authorities repeat a window running from mid-October to the end of November, and the medicines agency AFMPS/FAGG, in its announcement of the 2026-2027 campaign, recommends vaccination between mid-October and mid-December.

The reasoning follows the epidemic calendar. Protection builds up over 10 to 15 days after the injection, and flu epidemics typically start between late December and February. Mid-October therefore leaves protection time to settle in, without vaccinating too early.

For the COVID-19 vaccine, the Council had not published advice for 2026-2027 as of 10 October 2026. Its advice 9880, issued for season 2025-2026, advises giving both vaccines at the same time, in October. If they are separated, the COVID-19 vaccine can be given in September or October and the flu vaccine from mid-October.

The Flemish authorities note that the vaccines against COVID-19, influenza, RSV and pneumococcus can safely be given at the same time.

Source : Departement Zorg: autumn campaign 2026-2027 ↗AFMPS/FAGG: seasonal flu campaign 2026-2027 ↗Sciensano: monitoring flu activity in Belgium (2019 press release) ↗Vaccination schedule: the emmunity tool ↗

What changes this season: the pharmacist’s role

For season 2026-2027, the pharmacist may prescribe and dispense every type of flu vaccine: standard dose without adjuvant, standard dose with adjuvant and high dose, under the same reimbursement conditions as the doctor.

That is a widening. Last season the pharmacist could prescribe and dispense the standard vaccine with reimbursement, but reimbursement of the adjuvanted and high-dose vaccines went through a prior request from a doctor. INAMI/RIZIV now states that the pharmacist prescribes those vaccines themselves and dispenses them with reimbursement to people aged 65 and over (page consulted on 11 October 2026).

Prescribing and dispensing is not the same as injecting. The injection in the pharmacy is reserved for the vaccinating pharmacist, who has completed specific training and may administer the standard vaccine with or without adjuvant as well as the high-dose vaccine. Not every pharmacy offers that service: the vaccinating-pharmacist search on pharmacie.be lets you check.

For a pregnant woman, the standard-dose vaccine without adjuvant may also be prescribed by a midwife, alongside the doctor and the pharmacist.

The mention that the third-party payer scheme applies on the prescription is now enough to obtain reimbursement, with no prior request for people aged 65 and over.

Source : INAMI/RIZIV: vaccine available at the pharmacy without a doctor’s prescription ↗BCFI/CBIP: the pharmacist’s role widens ↗pharmacie.be: pharmacists can vaccinate you against flu ↗

What does the flu vaccine cost?

The flu vaccine is not free in Belgium, but it costs little for risk groups. The amounts below come from the reimbursement rules published by INAMI/RIZIV.

Situation	Vaccine	Price to pay
Person in a risk group	Standard dose (Alpharix, Flucelvax, Influvac, Vaxigrip)	4,08 €, or 2,45 € with increased reimbursement
Person outside a risk group	Standard dose	17,74 €
65 and over	Adjuvanted (Fluad) or high dose (Efluelda)	7,92 €, or 4,71 € with increased reimbursement
Outside the reimbursement conditions	Adjuvanted or high dose	30,87 €

For the standard vaccine outside a risk group, the INAMI/RIZIV reimbursement page, consulted on 10 October 2026, shows a single amount: 17,74 €. Your pharmacy will confirm the exact amount at the counter.

Those prices cover the vaccine itself. INAMI/RIZIV publishes the fee for administering the vaccine: 15,50 €, paid directly to the pharmacist by the health insurance. If you are affiliated to a Belgian mutuality (health insurance fund), you therefore pay nothing at the pharmacy for the injection, no co-payment and no supplement. At the GP, a consultation may be billed. One flu vaccine is reimbursed per person per season.

Content verified on 20 September 2026 against the official sources listed at the bottom of this page, prices and reimbursements re-checked on 10 October 2026. Prices are indexed and season-specific: re-check them on the INAMI/RIZIV site before you go.

Source : Vaccine prices in Belgium: the full table ↗INAMI/RIZIV: reimbursement of the seasonal flu vaccine ↗INAMI/RIZIV: fees, prices and reimbursements for the flu vaccine ↗

Why a stronger vaccine from 65?

From 65, with or without a risk factor, the Council recommends a high-dose vaccine or an adjuvanted standard-dose vaccine rather than a standard one. In case of chronic kidney failure after 65, the high-dose vaccine is the only one recommended.

In its advice 9897, the Council does draw a distinction between the two. Both stronger vaccines have shown clinical superiority over the standard vaccine, but the quality of the evidence is better for the high-dose vaccine, backed by randomised controlled trials, than for the adjuvanted one, backed by a meta-analysis of observational studies with a low level of evidence.

For its part, BCFI/CBIP, the Belgian medicines reference, writes in its article of 10 September 2026 that these two vaccines are considered equivalent, citing a comparative study.

Below 65, the rule differs. For immunodeficient patients, people with risk factors and 50 to 64 year olds with chronic kidney failure, INAMI/RIZIV reimburses only the standard-dose vaccine without adjuvant. A stronger vaccine remains possible, but at the patient’s expense.

The vaccines marketed in Belgium are trivalent. Since season 2025-2026 the fourth B strain is no longer recommended in the composition, the lineage concerned having stopped circulating in March 2020.

For season 2026-2027, the medicines agency AFMPS/FAGG also lists Flucelvax, a cell-culture vaccine, among the available standard-dose vaccines, and INAMI/RIZIV among those it reimburses. If you have ever had a severe allergic reaction, to egg or to a vaccine, talk to your doctor before being vaccinated: according to INAMI/RIZIV, the pharmacist’s protocol also includes a check for known dangerous allergies.

Source : BCFI/CBIP: the new Health Council advice for 2026-2027 ↗BCFI/CBIP: flu vaccination, previous advice and reimbursement table ↗

Pregnant or with children: what to know

Vaccination is recommended for all pregnant women, whatever the stage of the pregnancy, with a standard-dose vaccine without adjuvant. The prescription can come from the doctor, the pharmacist or the midwife.

For children the recommendation is targeted. It covers children at risk from 6 months of age and children aged 6 months to 18 years on chronic acetylsalicylic acid treatment, with a standard-dose vaccine without adjuvant. There is no general recommendation for a healthy child.

vaccination-info.be states that children under 9 being vaccinated for the first time receive two doses four weeks apart. We did not find that rule worded as such in advice 9897 itself: have your child’s schedule confirmed by your doctor or pharmacist.

Source : Vaccines during pregnancy: the Belgian guide ↗Child vaccination schedule in Belgium ↗Vaccination schedule: the emmunity tool ↗vaccination-info.be: influenza ↗

Remember the date, not the campaign

A flu vaccine only counts for one season: last year’s no longer holds, and the next campaign comes back twelve months later. A digital record like emmunity notes the date of this season’s vaccine, for you as much as for your family, and reminds you of the next one at the right time.

Frequently asked questions

Is the flu vaccine free in Belgium?

No, it is not free, but it costs little for risk groups. According to the reimbursement rules published by INAMI/RIZIV, the standard-dose vaccine costs 4,08 € for someone in a risk group, or 2,45 € with increased reimbursement. Outside a risk group the same vaccine costs 17,74 €, according to the INAMI/RIZIV reimbursement page consulted on 10 October 2026, and your pharmacy will confirm the exact amount at the counter. For people aged 65 and over, the adjuvanted vaccine and the high-dose vaccine cost 7,92 €, or 4,71 € with increased reimbursement. One flu vaccine is reimbursed per person per season. If you are affiliated to a Belgian mutuality (health insurance fund), you pay nothing at the pharmacy for the injection: INAMI/RIZIV publishes the administration fee, 15,50 €, and the health insurance pays it directly to the pharmacist. At the GP, a consultation may be billed.

Can I get vaccinated straight at the pharmacy?

Yes, at a pharmacy that offers the service. For season 2026-2027 the pharmacist may prescribe and dispense every type of flu vaccine, standard dose, adjuvanted and high dose, under the same reimbursement conditions as the doctor. The injection itself is reserved for the vaccinating pharmacist, who has completed specific training: not every pharmacy offers that service, and the vaccinating-pharmacist search on pharmacie.be lets you check before you go. The mention that the third-party payer scheme applies on the prescription is enough to obtain reimbursement, with no prior request from a doctor for people aged 65 and over. Your doctor of course remains an option, and for a pregnant woman a midwife may prescribe the vaccine too.

When should you get the flu vaccine?

From mid-October, according to the Superior Health Council. The Flemish authorities repeat a window from mid-October to the end of November, and the medicines agency AFMPS/FAGG, in its announcement of the 2026-2027 campaign, recommends vaccination between mid-October and mid-December. The reasoning follows the epidemic calendar: protection builds up over 10 to 15 days after the injection, and flu epidemics typically start between late December and February. Vaccinating too early lets protection weaken before the peak, vaccinating too late lets the start of the season slip by. If you are also due a COVID-19 vaccine, the Council advises both at the same time, in October: that comes from its advice 9880 for 2025-2026, as no COVID-19 advice for 2026-2027 had been published by 10 October 2026. These dates apply to season 2026-2027.

Can I have the vaccine while pregnant?

Yes, whatever the stage of the pregnancy. The Health Council advice places pregnant women among the target groups, with no trimester restriction, using a standard-dose vaccine without adjuvant. The prescription can come from your doctor, your pharmacist or your midwife, who is explicitly allowed to prescribe this vaccine during pregnancy. Vaccination during pregnancy also counts for the baby to come: where the mother was not vaccinated, the Council recommends vaccinating the people living under the same roof as an infant under 6 months. Our guide on vaccines during pregnancy sets out the rest of the schedule for pregnant women in Belgium.