The Netherlands has decided to bring forward by two days the start of its vaccination campaign against Covid-19, which will begin on Wednesday, announced the government of the country, the last in the EU to launch.
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Hospital staff in contact with Covid-19 patients will be the first to benefit from the vaccine alongside workers from retirement homes in the south of the country, health authorities have announced.
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The start of the vaccination against Covid-19 is advanced by two days
" compared to the previously announced date of Friday, January 8, announced the Ministry of Health after a meeting with the health authorities.
Strict confinement since mid-December
Since the start of vaccination in Europe on December 27, the slowness of some countries to administer the vaccine have been strongly criticized - especially in France.
But in the Netherlands, the delay is even greater: with the first vaccinations scheduled almost two weeks after the launch of vaccinations in the EU, and almost a month after the start of the campaign in the UK.
Tuesday, the Minister of Health Hugo de Jonge will defend himself against these delays in front of the parliament.
The authorities had previously highlighted the logistical difficulties and the need for approval of the vaccine by the national authorities.
Since mid-December, the Netherlands has been under the strictest containment since the start of the pandemic, with residents called to stay at home and all non-essential schools and stores closed.
Previously, Prime Minister Mark Rutte had preferred “
intelligent containment
”, much more permissive than those of his European neighbors.
On Monday, the country recorded 6,671 new cases of Covid-19, or 757 more than the day before.