In the House of Representatives, there are various parties who are dissatisfied with the vaccination rate. They wonder if the shares owned are not very large and they wonder which strategy is chosen. The outgoing minister Hugo de Jong (Public Health) prefers injections faster, but assures that he cannot affect everything.
“The vaccination policy is a mess,” said PVV leader Geert Wilders. He believes existing stocks should be put to use with such speed. Lilian Blumen, a member of PvdA, thinks politics is “chaos.”
Both Wilders and think tank leader Fred Azarkan asked the cabinet to follow the advice of Ernst Kuippers, head of the National Acute Care Network, by giving each person a first injection of two injections as soon as possible, so that more people would have some form of protection.
“This has tremendous benefits, such as rapidly reducing the pressure on healthcare and removing this lockdown,” said Azraqan.
D66 MP Vera Bergkamp wanted to know how many vaccines currently on the shelf. Carla Dick Faber (ChristenUnie): “Why is it taking so long?”
De Jonge relies on unconfirmed delivery
De Jonge understands his impatience. “We are looking for all ways to do it faster,” he said. The minister “unfortunately” is the most dependent on factors that are difficult to influence, such as the supply and production of various vaccines.
The main concern is the AstraZeneca vaccine. “There are quite a few cases,” de Jong said. The British Swedish vaccine maker has had to drastically cut promised deliveries several times over. To drive you crazy, De Jonge said of her earlier.
Meanwhile, a large stock was built up because a break for injections was taken between March 14th and 18th due to potentially dangerous complications. During that period, the Netherlands received several shipments.
Pfizer / BioNTech vaccines are reliable. This is why De Jonge dares to reduce inventory from five to three days. So few Moderna vaccines come in so no stock is needed at all.
AstraZeneca stock increased due to uncertainty
This is different on AstraZeneca. So much went wrong with the delivery there that the Cabinet wanted to keep inventory for at least five days. “Even this is very exciting,” said de Jong.
In the worst case, according to the minister, tens of thousands of appointments should be canceled and rescheduled. The intent is to get the inventory out as quickly as possible. De Jong: “You have to be on the cutting edge.”
To give more people the first injection and wait a little longer with the second injection, as Kuipers suggested, De Jonge is not a good idea due to the health risks. “If you wait too long, protection decreases and virus variants give more space.”
By mid-April, four million injections should be given to most people over the age of 80 and people with a medical background. In May it will be the 1970s and 60s, and in June everyone is between 30 and 50. De Jonge predicts that eleven million injections will be taken by then.
The 1920s, the final combination, will likely release at the end of June. Ultimately, anyone eighteen years of age or older who wants to be vaccinated may have their first shot at the start of July.
