In a historic moment for the Netherlands, the first coronavirus vaccine was administered at 8:30 this morning in a live broadcast. The recipient was 39-year-old care worker Sanna Elkadiri of the Zorggroep Elde Maasduinen (ZGEM).

“I don’t think the vaccination is scary,” Elkadiri told the NOS. “I find the things around it more exciting.” Although she was apprehensive at first, she is eager to be a part of the big moment.

“When I was approached on Saturday, I had to think for a while,” Elkadiri explained. “In the end, I do it mainly for myself, but also for the message to the outside world: get vaccinated so that we can return to a normal society.”

Elkadiri works in a department with dementia clients. “Cuddling is a normal thing there, or that you get a kiss,” she said. “Those people need the security and that is no longer possible.” She hopes the vaccine will bring back the human contact that was the norm before the pandemic.

Who else receives the vaccine today?

Elkadiri was the first but she isn’t the only person receiving a vaccine today. The Pfizer and BioNTech vaccines will be administered to many other nursing home employees and hospital staff throughout the day at GGD Hart voor Brabant, as well as at GGDs in Rotterdam and Utrecht.

Priority is given to employees who work in ICUs, emergency departments, coronavirus nursing wards, and care for the disabled.

Elkadiri is optimistic: ‘”At last the vaccination will start now! We will be able to return to normal soon.”

How do you feel about vaccinations beginning in the Netherlands? Tell us in the comment below!

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The RIVM has released this week’s round of coronavirus infection numbers in the Netherlands — and while they are slightly lower than last week’s, the RIVM has said that the “convincing effects” of the current lockdown will not be seen anytime soon. 

As the holiday season comes to an end, the Netherlands must wait and see whether restrictions were followed over the festive period. This week, 56,440 people tested positive for coronavirus this is a slight decrease from last week’s figure of 67,388.

Hospitalisations

Hospitalisations this week were only slightly down with 1,713 people admitted to nursing wards due to coronavirus (compared to 1,892 last week.) A further 336 people are now in the ICU, a number that is higher than last week’s ICU figure of 304.

Deaths

The number of people who have passed away from coronavirus this week has risen, standing at 621 compared to last week’s number of 583.

In case you missed any of the other important coronavirus developments over the past week, here’s a quick summary of what happened:

Decrease in testing but increase in infection rate

Whilst fewer people were tested for coronavirus this week, the percentage of positive tests has risen when compared to last week. Last week, 13% of tests came back positive. This week, that percentage has risen to 13.7%.

The RIVM believes that the decrease in the amount of tests being done may be due to either; the positive effects of lockdown — less people believe they may have coronavirus, or, simply that people are less inclined to get themselves tested.

Earlier rollout of the coronavirus vaccine

For the Netherlands, the rollout of the vaccine could not come sooner. Luckily, 22 GGD regions believe that they will be able to begin vaccinating people before the initially planned start date.

According to the NOS, the regions of Amsterdam, Drenthe and Haaglanden will now begin vaccinating a week earlier than their initial start date. Instead of January 18, these regions will now begin vaccinations on January 11.

The remaining GGD regions are expected to begin vaccinations on January 15, three days before their initially planned start date.

Cabinet considering lottery ticket system for ICU beds

The Lower House is to consider implementing a lottery ticket system of selection in the case of a healthcare emergency. Currently, Dutch practitioners organisations have written up emergency guidelines for doctors to follow should there be a shortage of ICU beds for Dutch patients.

Under the current plan, in the event of an ICU bed shortage, certain patients will be given priority based on a number of factors: their expected length of recovery, whether or not they came into contact with coronavirus while working in healthcare and then, their age.

When considering a patient’s age, the current plan dictates that doctors should prioritise younger patients. The Minister for Medical Care, Tamara Van Ark, has written to the Lower House asking that age will not be taken into consideration when making this decision. Instead, the cabinet should consider a lottery ticket system of selection.

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The Dutch cabinet is currently working on a motion to prohibit doctors from selecting ICU patients based on their age. Instead, they are considering a lottery system that may be implemented if ICU beds should become scarce.

Physician organisations throughout the Netherlands have constructed a plan for choosing patients who should be prioritised in the event of an ICU bed shortage. Currently, that plan takes into account a person’s age.

Young prioritised over old

According to the current plan, a young person may be given priority over an older patient if the two must be considered for an ICU bed. Potential patients will be listed under certain age groups such as 0-20, 20-40, 40-60, 60-80 and 80+ years.

Dick Willems, professor of medical ethics, tells the NOS that this system of prioritisation is because “we find that someone who is 25 years old has had less chance of a full life than someone who is 65 years old.”

Call for lottery system instead

The Minister for Medical Care, Tamara Van Ark, has written to the Lower House asking to prohibit this choice from being made based on age.

According to the NOS, she writes that “every human life is worth the same. If an older patient has the same chance of recovery on medical grounds as a younger patient, according to the government, he or her should not be denied a claim to life-saving care.”

She proposes that a lottery ticket system should be implemented instead in the case where a doctor must choose between patients based on age.

Currently not necessary

The current plan will only come into effect in the situation where the Netherlands has exhausted all other options. For example, if more beds are needed for ICU patients, more beds are added to wards and Dutch patients may be sent to Germany for help.

However, doctors would like to have some guidelines should the Netherlands experience a complete shortage of facilities for patients in need of intensive care. Dutch hospitals experienced this briefly in April of 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Age not the only factor

It is also worth noting that age is just one of the many criteria that doctors must consider in the event of a shortage. Under the current plan, the expected duration of the patients’ stay is also considered, with those expected to make a quick recovery prioritised to receive a bed first.

Healthcare workers who fell ill while treating coronavirus patients in situations where they could not receive proper PPE will also be prioritised. The next step would then be to consider a person’s life stage.

What do you think of the Dutch cabinet’s approach to this plan? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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The population growth in the Netherlands is half of what it was a year ago. In 2020, the population grew by around 63,000 people, whereas in 2019, 132,000 people were added, reports the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). This is due to the coronavirus pandemic and its effects of fewer immigrants arriving and more people dying.

The population growth that did occur was mainly due to immigration. The CBS reports that the number of immigrants in 2020 is expected to be nearly 211,000, which is 58,000 less than the year before.

The number of births minus mortality, called, “the natural increase”, is expected to be around 4,000. In both the second and third waves, the mortality rate exceeded the birth rate. Researchers also show that more people died than were born last year in 219 of the 355 Dutch municipalities.

Growth due mainly to immigration

Statisticians say that the first wave of the pandemic had the greatest impact on population growth, with more people dying than there were being born. Additionally, immigration slowed to a near halt.

In the third quarter, the number of deaths declined and measures were eased, while foreign immigration picked up a bit. Though again in the fourth quarter, mortality increased and immigration declined.

Less immigration from outside the EU

Although the majority of population growth was due to immigration, rates were still significantly lower than in 2019, particularly from countries outside the EU.

After the coronavirus measures were introduced in mid-March, fewer people migrated to the Netherlands from abroad. “The decline was less pronounced for people born in an EU country, and increased more quickly after the intelligent lockdown,” the CBS explains.

Emigration, on the other hand, has changed less. During 2020, fewer people from outside the EU left their home countries, while the emigration of people born in an EU country increased slightly, particularly in the first quarter.

Are you surprised by how population growth has changed in 2020? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.

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