Kamer denounces slow vaccination, De Jonge promises to quickly remove stock | NOW

In the House of Representatives, various parties are not satisfied with the vaccination rate. They wonder whether the stocks held are not too large and question the chosen strategy. Outgoing Minister Hugo de Jonge (Public Health) would also prefer to inject faster, but emphasizes that he cannot influence everything.

“The vaccination policy is a mess,” said PVV leader Geert Wilders. He believes that current stocks should be used so quickly. PvdA member Lilianne Ploumen thinks the policy is “a mess”.

Both Wilders and THINK leader Farid Azarkan ask the cabinet to follow the advice of Ernst Kuipers chairman of the National Network Acute Care by giving everyone the first of two injections as soon as possible, so that more people have some form of protection.

“This has enormous advantages, such as the rapid reduction of the pressure on healthcare and the abolition of the lockdown,” said Azarkan.

D66 MP Vera Bergkamp wanted to know how many vaccines are currently on the shelf. Carla Dik-Faber (ChristenUnie): “Why is it taking so long?”

De Jonge depends on uncertain deliveries

De Jonge understands impatience. “We’re looking for all the ways to do it faster,” he said. The minister is “unfortunately” most dependent on factors that are the most difficult to influence, such as the supply and production of the various vaccines.

The main concern is the AstraZeneca vaccine. “There are quite a few issues there,” said De Jonge. The British-Swedish vaccine maker has had to significantly reduce the promised deliveries several times. “To drive you crazy”, De Jonge said about it earlier.

In the meantime a considerable stock has been built up because a injection break was taken between 14 and 18 March due to possible serious complications. During that period, the Netherlands received several deliveries.

The delivery of Pfizer / BioNTech vaccines is reliable. That is why De Jonge dares to reduce the stock from five to three days. So few of the Moderna vaccines come in that no stock is needed at all.

Increased stock of AstraZeneca due to uncertainty

This is different at AstraZeneca. So much goes wrong in the delivery there that the cabinet wants to keep a stock of at least five days. “And even that is quite exciting,” said De Jonge.

In the worst case, according to the minister, tens of thousands of appointments must be canceled and rescheduled. The intention is to get the stock out as soon as possible. De Jonge: “It has to be on the cutting edge.”

To give more people a first injection and wait a little longer with the second, as Kuipers suggested, De Jonge is not a good idea due to health risks. “If you wait too long, the protection decreases and you give virus variants more space.”

By mid-April, four million injections must have been done on most people over 80 and people with a medical background. In May it will be the turn of the seventies and sixties and in June everyone between thirty and fifty. De Jonge expects that eleven million injections will have been taken by then.

The twenties, the last group, will probably get a shot at the end of June. Ultimately, anyone aged eighteen and older who wants to be vaccinated may have had the first shot at the beginning of July.

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