The vaccination calendar in Belgium: how it works

30 July 2026 · updated 11 October 2026 · 5 min read

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The Belgian vaccination calendar is the list of recommended vaccinations by age, from birth to adulthood. The quirk: it is not managed federally: the Superior Health Council recommends, the Communities organise, and the practical details differ by region. Here is your map.

Key takeaways

The Superior Health Council recommends; Kind & Gezin/Opgroeien, ONE and Kaleido vaccinate for free.
The programme covers the major childhood diseases; rotavirus is the paid exception (partly reimbursed).
School vaccinates too: CLB in Flanders, PSE in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation.
Adults: tetanus-diphtheria-pertussis booster roughly every 10 years, flu and COVID depending on your profile.
The calendar is being updated right now (CSS 2025 advisory): always check your region’s official version.

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

Who decides what

The Superior Health Council (CSS/HGR) sets the scientific vaccination recommendations for Belgium. The three Communities then turn them into concrete programmes: they purchase the vaccines, organise distribution and offer them free through their organisations, ONE in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, Kind & Gezin (Opgroeien) in Flanders, Kaleido in the German-speaking Community (free from 0 to 20).

Source : CSS: vaccination domain ↗ONE: vaccination ↗Kaleido: free vaccinations ↗

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What the free programme covers

For children, the programme protects against the major diseases: diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, Haemophilus influenzae b, hepatitis B (the hexavalent vaccine), pneumococcus, measles-mumps-rubella, then meningococcus and HPV by age.

One notable exception: the rotavirus vaccine, paid but largely reimbursed, bought at the pharmacy on prescription.

Source : Free & reimbursements (vaccination-info.be) ↗Kind & Gezin: vaccinations ↗Your baby's and child's vaccines: the parents' guide ↗

School vaccinates too

Part of the calendar is given free at school: by the CLB teams in Flanders and the PSE services in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, notably the teenage boosters and HPV. If a consent form shows up in your child’s schoolbag, that is what it is.

Source : CLB & vaccinations ↗

HPV, for girls and boys

HPV vaccination is offered to everyone in the 2nd year of secondary school, girls and boys. In the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, a free catch-up exists up to and including age 18 for those born from 2006. Ask the doctor or the PSE service.

Source : HPV (vaccination-info.be) ↗

Adults: the boosters never really stop

10 years

Interval of the adult dTpa booster

Age of the specific recommendations

A tetanus-diphtheria-pertussis (dTpa) booster is recommended roughly every 10 years. In Flanders it is even provided free.

On top, depending on your profile: flu every autumn (partly reimbursed for risk groups and 50+), COVID per the CSS seasonal strategy, and after 65 specific recommendations (pneumococcus, RSV, shingles).

Your doctor or pharmacist (who can vaccinate against flu without a prescription) will point the way.

Source : Flu (vaccination-info.be) ↗COVID strategy 2025-2026 (CSS) ↗Vaccination at the pharmacy ↗

Pregnant? Some vaccinations are recommended

Weeks 24-32

Recommended window for pertussis (dTpa)

Weeks 28-36

Possible window for maternal RSV

During pregnancy, pertussis (dTpa) is recommended between weeks 24 and 32, flu in season, and a maternal RSV vaccination may be offered between weeks 28 and 36 to protect the newborn. Talk to your doctor or midwife: it is case by case.

Source : Vaccinations around pregnancy (Departement Zorg) ↗

What changes on 1 November 2026?

1 Nov 2026

New infant schedule in the WBF

2+1

Hexavalent: 2, 4 and 12 months

No date

On the Flemish pages read on 11 October 2026

The Superior Health Council published its new base schedule in April 2026 (advisory 9761), lightening the infant schedule: the hexavalent vaccine goes from four doses to three (2, 4 and 12 months).

The Wallonia-Brussels Federation applies the new schedule from 1 November 2026 in its vaccination programme (ONE consultation, GP or paediatrician). That programme also moves the last pneumococcal dose from 12 to 15 months (13 months for babies born before 37 weeks). The programme explains this move by the wish to avoid three injections at the 12-month visit.

On the Flemish pages read on 11 October 2026, the current ages are unchanged, with no announcement and no date: Kind en Gezin stays on the four-dose schedule.

What does not change: MMR at 12 months and meningococcal ACWY at 15 months are explicitly unchanged, and rotavirus keeps the same ages. The school doses and HPV are not concerned by this change, which is about infants.

For babies mid-schedule on 1 November, the programme published transition rules for professionals in September 2026, and an article for parents. Not every baby moves to three doses: under those rules, the four-dose schedule remains necessary if the first two doses were given less than 8 weeks apart.

The principle for parents: you have nothing to do yourself, the doses already given stay valid and are not repeated, you keep the planned appointments and the professional adapts the calendar. The detail, case by case, is in our parents' guide, linked below.

The moral: never trust a copied calendar. Check the official, current one for your region. As of 11 October 2026, the calendar page of the Federation's public site still shows the 2025-2026 calendar as the one in force; the 2026-2027 calendar is published on the programme's site for professionals.

In the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, the 2025-2026 calendar applies until 31 October 2026, and the 2026-2027 calendar from 1 November 2026.

Source : 1 November 2026 change: article for parents (vaccination-info.be) ↗FW-B calendar 2026-2027 (the programme's site for professionals) ↗Official calendar FW-B ↗Official calendar Flanders ↗CSS advisory 9761 (2025) ↗Your baby's and child's vaccines: the parents' guide ↗

And to miss nothing: automatic reminders

Between baby doses, school boosters, your dTpa every ten years and the grandparents' yearly flu shot, family follow-up quickly becomes a puzzle. That is exactly what emmunity automates: each family member's calendar, with reminders at the right time.

Frequently asked questions

Which vaccines are free for my child?

Those in your Community's programme (via ONE, Kind & Gezin or Kaleido, and at school): diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, Hib, hepatitis B, pneumococcus, MMR, meningococcus and HPV by age. Rotavirus is the exception: paid, but largely reimbursed.

Is vaccination mandatory in Belgium?

Only polio is legally mandatory. The rest of the calendar is recommended, and offered free to children through the programme.

Do I still need boosters as an adult?

Yes: the tetanus-diphtheria-pertussis booster roughly every 10 years, the yearly flu shot depending on your profile, and specific vaccinations after 65. Your doctor can check where you stand; so can MaSanté.

Why do I see different ages on different sites?

Because the calendar is in transition: the Wallonia-Brussels Federation applies the new Superior Health Council advice from 1 November 2026, while the Flemish pages read on 11 October 2026 announce no change and no date. The Wallonia-Brussels Federation applies its 2025-2026 calendar until 31 October 2026, then the 2026-2027 calendar from 1 November 2026. Trust only your region's official calendar.