VIDEOPeople under 60 years of age are not vaccinated with AstraZeneca. This was just announced by outgoing Minister of Health Hugo de Jonge. People over 60 will still receive the vaccine. That decision came after an emergency advice from the Health Council. All changes regarding vaccination have a major impact on GPs, says the National General Practitioners Associations (LHV).
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Anita van Rootselaar
8 apr. 2021
Latest update:
21:22
“The ratio between the degree of risk and the degree of benefit is very different above the age of 60, which is why the advice is very clear”, said Minister De Jonge. “Above 60, AstraZeneca is simply a good and safe vaccine.” Last week, the Netherlands already temporarily stopped using AstraZeneca for people under the age of 60, due to possible side effects.
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The European Medicines Agency (EMA) reported on Wednesday that there is likely a link between the vaccine and a rare and dangerous combination of complaints. This includes blood clots (thrombosis) and a low number of platelets. In the Netherlands, 8 cases of this adverse reaction have been reported in women between 23 and 65 years of age at 400,000 vaccines (0.002 percent).
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Well a second shot
The Health Council advised Minister De Jonge on Thursday evening to continue vaccinating people over 60 with the AstraZeneca vaccine. For other age groups it is recommended to use one of the other vaccines. “To prevent disease and death from Covid-19, it is important to vaccinate as many people over the age of 60 as possible as soon as possible,” says the council.
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According to the council, people younger than 60 who have already had a first shot can just get a second vaccine from AstraZeneca. So far there are no known cases of the rare side effect after a second injection, De Jonge writes in a letter to Parliament. More than 500,000 people have received AstraZeneca’s corona vaccine to date; it is not known how many of them are under the age of 60.
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Feasibility for GPs ‘stretched to the limit’
The consequences for the planning are not too bad, according to Minister De Jonge. “We will have a lot of vaccines in the near future,” he explained, referring to the expected deliveries of the vaccine from Janssen and Pfizer, among others. The order in which people are vaccinated remains unchanged, De Jonge says.
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However, GPs have been bothered by the changes, says the LHV. They had to change their vaccination plans in recent weeks by two injection breaks. “The feasibility and practicability for GP practices has now been stretched to the limit, GPs are inundated with questions about vaccines and vaccinations,” says LHV board member Carin Littooij, who is also a general practitioner.
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General practitioners administer AstraZeneca’s corona vaccine to high-risk groups such as people with Down’s syndrome and morbidly obese. Again, appointments with people under the age of 60 will be canceled; people over 60 can still get an injection.
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The GGDs are canceling all 9,000 outstanding appointments for a vaccination with AstraZeneca’s corona vaccine. Among them are about 1,500 people aged 60 and over. They will soon receive an invitation for a new appointment. The health service hopes they will all be vaccinated by next week. They will then still receive the AstraZeneca vaccine.
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