That is what the Rotterdam GP Matthijs van der Poel told Beau yesterday. “In my practice, only 30 percent of the vulnerable group comes to get a vaccine,” he said. Watch the whole conversation here:
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“As a kind of market vendor, I have to make phone calls to get rid of the vaccines,” said Van der Poel. A general practitioner in another district in Rotterdam calculated that she had to work one hour per vaccine to explain to patients that the injection is really worthwhile.
‘Changing signals’
It is also wrong elsewhere in the country. Monique Roedoe of the National General Practitioners Association (LHV) talked about it today in the Nederlands Dagblad. The association receives ‘varying signals’ about the turnout among GPs.
There are neighborhoods where 90 percent of people who have an appointment for vaccination still show up, but that is not the case everywhere. GPs in Zwolle reported a turnout of 50 to 60 percent last weekend. According to the LHV, the turnout in Rotterdam was also very disappointing last week.
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In addition, GPs are constantly being asked about the AstraZeneca vaccine, which in very rare cases could cause thrombosis.
“It is understandable that people call their doctor, but it puts a lot of pressure on the practices,” says Roedoe in the newspaper. “People decide for themselves what to do. All we can tell is that the risk of getting serious corona is many times greater than the risk of the vaccine.”
‘Organizational Dragon’
Another concern has been added for Van der Poel. He has no alternative yet for a group of vulnerable people under 60 years old who would be vaccinated with AstraZeneca. “I walk on my gums,” he says. According to the GP, the roll-out of the vaccine is an ‘organizational dragon’.
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