First people can get a third Covid-19 jab on October 7

The first fully vaccinated people can receive an extra shot against Covid-19 at the beginning of October. Invitations will go out on October 6. The first people invited can visit a GGD vaccination location from October 7.

The extra shots are intended for the 200,000 to 400,000 people aged 12 years and older who have certain serious immune disorders. The first two shots may not have sufficiently protected them from the coronavirus disease. It is possible that their immune system has not yet produced enough antibodies against the coronavirus, and that they have not yet built up enough protection. An extra dose can help to make their immune system stronger.

Their third shot will be the vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech, or the vaccine from Moderna, even if they received a different vaccine first.

The invitations will be sent in stages. It will probably take three to four weeks for everyone to be invited, the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) expects. People can make an appointment for an injection as soon as the invitation has been received. They can also walk in with the invitation in hand at vaccination sites that do not require an appointment.

People who are undergoing treatment cannot yet receive their third shot.

It is not yet necessary to give the rest of the population a booster shot, the Dutch Health Council said. The vaccines still work well enough to limit the risk of hospitalization or death for most people. The vaccines most commonly used in the Netherlands are 95 percent effective in preventing serious symptoms of Covid-19 which lead to hospitalization, and 97 percent of cases which require treatment in an intensive care unit.