The Netherlands could start vaccinating its population by the first week of January, Dutch Public Health Minister Hugo de Jonge said on Tuesday.
“The vaccine is now within reach and we are on the eve of a new phase in this crisis,” de Jonge said.
The Netherland’s National Institute of Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), municipal health services, general practitioners and doctors in nursing homes and institutions are working together to allow vaccination to start from the week of 4 January.
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That said, “here is also a warning: this is really the most favourable scenario,” according to de Jonge. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the European Commission “are first on the ball. And safety comes before speed,” he added.
The Netherlands currently has 522,835 confirmed cases, according to the European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC) and 9,363 deaths, making it the ninth-most affected country in Europe.
Jason Spinks
The Brussels Times
