People with Covid antibodies may have to wait for vaccination

People who have had the coronavirus and still have antibodies in their blood may have to wait before getting vaccinated. The government's advisers are investigating whether it won't make more sense to first vaccinate people who don't have any resistance to the virus, Minister Hugo de Jonge of Public Health said on Friday, NOS reports.

The idea is that people who already have Covid-19 antibodies in their system may not benefit as much from a vaccine as people with no resistance to the virus. The Health Council and Outbreak Management Team are currently researching this issue. De Jonge expects an answer by no later than Monday, January 18.

The Netherlands started vaccinating against the coronavirus using the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine on Wednesday. On Friday, the European Union ordered another 300 million doses of this vaccine. The European Medicines Agency also approved a Covid-19 vaccine by Moderna earlier this week. 

De Jonge and Prime Minister Mark Rutte are scheduled to give another coronavirus press conference the next day, on January 19. Earlier this week, Rutte said that he wasn't hopeful about measures being relaxed. The cabinet is instead considering extending the lockdown through February 2.