Too soon to speculate about Covid vaccination: Health Minister

It is too early to try and predict how long it will take to get the whole of the Netherlands vaccinated against the coronavirus, Minister Hugo de Jonge of Public Health said on Friday. Hans van Vliet of the RIVM said about a year. According to De Jonge, that's possible. But at this stage it is very difficult to say exactly, NOS reports.

The Health Minister said that he wants to do everything possible to get the country vaccinated against Covid-19 as soon as possible. But he stressed that this is only possible when there is a safe and effective vaccine on the market. Agreements have been made with various suppliers of promising vaccines. "But when which vaccine will be ready and for which groups it works best is difficult to say at the moment."

De Jonge said that he hopes vaccination can start in the first months of next year, but stressed that nothing is certain yet. He is keeping a close eye on developments. The government is "working hard" on a strategy to vaccinate such a massive number of people in a short period. At the end of next week, he expects to get a recommendation from the Health Council about which groups should get priority in vaccination.

The Minister previously called a working vaccine the Netherlands best hope in getting out of the coronavirus crisis. But the government is also committed to "innovative treatments" and more intensive testing. A combination of these should help make it possible for Netherlands residents to "live together more normally" again.