The city of Brussels is shifting its immunization strategy: one by one, it's shutting down all of its vaccination centers. By the end of October, not a single one will be open.  

COVID-19 infections are still climbing, but officials no longer believe the sites are the best way to immunize the population. They have instead made their efforts hyper-local, bringing the vaccines directly to the unvaccinated.  

Martine was among the last to roll up her sleeve at a vaccination center in the Anderlecht neighborhood of Brussels. She made it in for her second Pfizer jab just in the nick of time. A few hours later, the site shuttered for, what officials hope, is good.  

"I feel much safer now because I have a lot of auto-immune diseases. So, it was time for me to be vaccinated," Martine said.  
 

Thomas Temba also made the cut. Often traveling for work, he had missed earlier opportunities to get immunized.   

"I didn't know it was the last day, I just realized. But what's funny is that I just got tested for COVID a few blocks away, and that reminded me of the vaccine, so I got it done right after. I want to be all good," he said.  

At the height of Brussels' vaccination drive, 10 sites were set up around the city with the capacity to administer 400,000 doses a month. The local government plans to shutter all locations by the end of October.  

Officials said demand is dwindling now that 62 percent of the adult population is fully immunized and that those still unvaccinated are unlikely to go to a center anyway.  

"It's not efficient to keep these centers open anymore," said Inge Neven, Head of Brussels Health Inspectorate. "We really have to take the vaccines to the people. And that is the whole plan that we are setting up now." 

The focus is on individual communities such as schools, private businesses, and poorer neighborhoods where vaccination rates remain low.  

Earlier in the summer, Brussels deployed five mobile vaccination buses across the city, parking them near train stations, markets, and shopping streets. Many who stop say convenience is the main incentive. Once registered, they simply walk in and get the shot. 

Johnson and Johnson is the preferred jab on board the busses - a single shot with no follow-up required.  On one recent sunny afternoon 36-year-old Diassy seized the opportunity .  

"I wanted to get vaccinated for a long time now, but I couldn't find the time to do it. I was walking by and a friend told me about the vaccination bus, so I thought it was the right time to do it," he said. 

In the right location, Project Manager Jeroen Casatelli said more than 100 people could stop by a day. It is a small step towards closing the vaccination gap between Brussels and other regions, like Flanders,  where 90 percent of adults are already fully jabbed.  

"Brussels has a much younger population than the other regions, so in general, it is more difficult to reach the younger people," Casatelli said. "They are nervous about the speed at which the vaccine has been produced, is it safe?"

The laid-back setting of a bus on their local street corner is perhaps the easiest way to address those concerns.