Netherlands updates Covid vaccination plans; When can you can get vaccinated?
The Dutch government has issued a new update to its coronavirus vaccination strategy, the second full update since vaccinations began on January 6. The revision was published on Wednesday, the same day that Health Minister Hugo de Jonge said the municipal health service GGD would give second doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine six weeks after the first dose.
According to the European Medicines Agency, the second dose must be given between 21 and 42 days after the initial shot. The exiting minister had previously said the GGD will only work towards a three separation between shots, and that it would only inoculate people if there were enough doses in reserve to account for the booster shot.
Research submitted to the EMA showed that the vaccine candidate was 95 percent effective at preventing Covid-19 seven days after the second shot.
The plan from the government continues to give priority to the gives to give priority to the medically vulnerable, particularly residents of nursing homes and other care facilities, and people over 85 who are ambulatory.
Children under the age of 18 will not receive the vaccine because further research still needs to be performed to determine the effects on children. "Only the Pfizer vaccine is suitable for people aged 16 and over. More research is needed on the efficacy and safety of vaccines in children and adolescents," the Dutch government noted. It is also not yet certain if a vaccinated individual is still capable of unknowingly transmitting the disease.
The GGD will send out invitations to each person either via e-mail or post when it is their turn based on the Ministry of Health's strategy, along with instructions on what to do next. People who have been infected with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus must wait four weeks from the date of the first symptom, and must be asymptomatic to schedule an appointment. Vaccinations are free of charge and not compulsory.
Who can get vaccinated, when, and with which vaccine?
Ongoing
- Acute and urgent care providers, with Pfizer/BioNTech
- Ambulance and air ambulance crews, with Pfizer/BioNTech
- Nursing home and small residential facility caregivers, starting with Pfizer/BioNTech
- Nursing home residents, with Pfizer/BioNTech
- People with intellectual disabilities living in a 24-hour care facility, with Pfizer/BioNTech
Starting January 25
- Residents of small-scale nursing homes and facilities for the mentally disabled, with Moderna
- Mobile people aged 90 and above living at home, with Pfizer/BioNTech at a GGD mass vaccination site
- General practitioners, with Moderna
Starting February 1
- Mobile people aged between 85 to 90 living at home, with Pfizer/BioNTech at a GGD mass vaccination site
- Healthcare workers treating people with disabilities, starting with Pfizer/BioNTech then AstraZeneca
- On-location nurses and home healthcare workers, starting with Pfizer/BioNTech then AstraZeneca
Starting mid-February
- People aged 60 and above who are ambulatory and living at home, with either Pfizer/BioNTech or AstraZeneca
- People aged 60 and above who are not ambulatory and living at home, with Moderna
- People aged between 18 and 60, with a medical pre-condition with AstraZeneca
- Mental health patients in a residential care facility, with Moderna
- Those treating mental health patients at a residential facility, starting with Moderna then AstraZeneca
Starting April
- All healthcare workers not previously mentioned, and who do not fit in any other group listed above
Starting May
- People aged 18 through 59 who do not fit in any other group listed above, with AstraZeneca