Bookings for Janssen vaccine start at 10:00 a.m.

From Wednesday, Netherlands residents can make an appointment to get the Janssen vaccine against Covid-19. This is the first time that people in the Netherlands have a say in which vaccine they get.

Netherlands residents can call 0800-1295 to make their booking. The number opens at 10:00 a.m., Minister Hugo de Jonge of Public Health announced on Twitter.

Until recently, vaccines in the Netherlands were mainly administered on a "you get what you get" basis, primarily based on Health Council advice for which vaccine is most effective for which age group or profession and the available supply.

The biggest upside of the Janssen vaccine is that it requires only one dose, unlike the other approved vaccines that require two shots for optimal protection. The Janssen vaccine is somewhat less effective than those that require two shots, but still protects against serious illness or death from Covid-19, the respiratory disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. It also means that you can go on holiday abroad fully vaccinated after only one shot.

Netherlands residents who don't have a vaccination appointment scheduled yet, can call to get a Janssen shot from Wednesday. People who already have an appointment for a different vaccine - and haven't had a shot yet - can also call to change their appointment to a Janssen shot. The expectation is that the first of these appointments will happen on Friday.

Every GGD region will have at least one vaccination site administering Janssen vaccines, according to Hart van Nederland. About 200 thousand Janssen doses are available for the first two weeks. How many will be available after that, depends on delivery.