Dutch covid vaccination program returning to normal after storm

Data released by public health agency RIVM showed that the number of vaccinations against Covid-19 administered on Monday were at 78 percent of the moving average. An estimated 24,573 people received a vaccination, with the seven-day average dropping slightly to 31,432.

Monday's tally was ten times higher than on Sunday, though both figures below normal because of the winter storm. About eighty percent of the vaccines given out on Monday were administered at a facility run by the GGD municipal health services.

An estimated total of 595,934 vaccine doses have been used since January 6.

The RIVM also said that another 1,779 people tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection, the lowest since September 17. "Due to the winter weather of last Sunday, GGD test locations were closed. There was also reduced testing on Monday," the institute said in an earlier statement.

The low figure brought the seven-day moving average down to 3,545. The RIVM also said that 85 more people died as a result of Covid-19, a figure well above the moving average of 58.

For the second day straight, hospitals admitted 120 patients with the coronavirus disease into regular care and 26 others into intensive care. The total number of patients in care fell by 1 percent to 2,010, including 1,460 people in regular care, a net decrease of 32, and 550 intensive care patients, an increase of eight.

The combined total was 11 percent lower than a week earlier, data from patient coordination office LCPS showed. Should that trend continue, there will be fewer than 1,800 people in treatment by next week.

To date, 1,009,725 people have tested positive for the coronavirus infection in the Netherlands. Of that group, 14,511 died from Covid-19.