Vaccination rate still falling for older kids, stabilizing for babies and toddlers

The vaccination rate for babies and toddlers in the Netherlands’ National Vaccination Program has remained virtually the same as last year. But the proportion of older kids, aged 9 and up, who are getting their vaccinations continues to fall, the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) reported on Thursday.

“The RIVM is positive about the stabilization, but the vaccination rate among young children still deserves attention. The RIVM finds the further decline among older children worrying,” the health service said.

The vaccination rate in the Netherlands has been slowly falling for years, with the decline intensifying during and after the coronavirus pandemic. Early this year, the Netherlands had outbreaks of two diseases covered in the vaccination program: a measles outbreak in Eindhoven and a whooping cough outbreak nationwide. In the Netherlands, children are vaccinated against 13 infectious diseases.

According to the RIVM, the vaccination rate for babies and children remained virtually the same and has probably even increased slightly for the mumps, measles, and rubella vaccination and vaccinations against meningococcal disease types A, C, W, and Y.

But the decline is continuing in older kids. “Especially with the vaccination against meningococcal diseases types A, C, W, and Y, which are offered to teenagers at age 14,” the RIVM said. “It is important to determine the precise causes of the decrease in vaccination rates among teenagers.”

The RIVM stressed that a high vaccination rate is vital to protecting people against serious diseases and preventing outbreaks. Last year, the health institute launched a new research program aimed at gaining insight into what influences people’s decisions to get vaccinated and how health services can convince them to get the shots.

The RIVM can no longer report the exact vaccination rate for various shots because, since 2022, parents and kids can decide not to share their data with the health institute. “It is not possible to count anonymous vaccinations towards the vaccination rate. The information needed to determine the vaccination rate is unknown,” the health institute said.