Health Council to advise on vaccinating medically vulnerable kids

Caretaker Minister Hugo de Jonge of Public Health asked the Health Council for advice on vaccinating children in medial risk groups against the coronavirus. He wants to know which groups would be eligible for vaccination, he said in a letter to parliament.

De Jonge asked the Health Council to treat the request "with the highest priority" because of "the great social importance."

Vaccine manufacturer Pfizer/BioNTech already applied for approval to the European Medicines Agency (EMA). In America, children between the ages of 5 and 11 can already receive the Pfizer vaccine. Vaccination is expected to start there this week.

De Jonge also said that no more AstraZeneca vaccines would be administered in the Netherlands. The vaccine was already hardly used, and no new deliveries have been received since the summer, according to NOS.

Only people born in 1960 or earlier are eligible for an AstraZeneca jab. According to De Jonge, only a handful of people made an appointment for this jab in recent weeks. People who already had the first shot and have an appointment for a second AstraZeneca dose, will be given the Pfizer vaccine.

The Health Council already said in the summer that people who got an AstraZeneca first dose could get a Pfizer second dose. That was also the reason for no longer purchasing AstraZeneca vaccines.