GGD wants to administer one million vaccines per week

The Dutch municipal healthcare chapters (GGD) expect to have weeks during the year in which they will administer around one million vaccines. However, this will only be possible if the vaccines’ availability is there and the logistics process is optimally organized, reported the umbrella organization GGD GHOR on Friday.

The vaccines will only be available in limited quantities in the near future. The GGD chapters will use these to perfect the logistics chain. “This goes from the logistical operation of preparing the vaccine to the details such as how do we set up the chairs that people can wait for 15 minutes after the vaccination,” says Nicolette Rigter, director of the COVID-19 Program Organization. 

On Wednesday, the first healthcare workers were vaccinated with the Pfizer and BioNTech jab. By learning from the trial period, the GGD chapters will be able to vaccinate en masse in the future. GGD GHOR expects a peak of one million injections per week. 

Until January 15, six GGD locations will administer the first 12,500 vaccines available for the pilot. It also examines how waste can be prevented as much as possible. “We will use all vaccines available on the target group. It is always very important to reduce waste,” says Rigter. 

The GGD chapters want to optimize their logistics operation but ultimately hope to – in collaboration with vaccination partners – have a vaccination site in every municipality. “Close to the people as soon as the numbers and the logistical properties permit. But also for that, we need to look at what is possible and what works,” writes the GGD GHOR.