There is a low turnout of corona vaccines in the Netherlands. Last Wednesday, April 28, 2021, about 5,265,860 vaccines were given throughout the Netherlands. However, the RIVM indicated the following day that a calculation error was most likely made: 220,000 pricks were counted too many. Not only that, but it also seems that far fewer injections have been made than has been calculated, according to the National Association of General Practitioners (LHV). How come?
Wrong calculations and criticism
General practitioners throughout the Netherlands are seeing an increasingly lower turnout of people who come for their corona vaccine. This started just after the AstraZeneca vaccine was stopped on April 2. This stop means that only people over 60 will now receive this vaccine. People under 60 get a different vaccine. According to the LHV, GPs sometimes have up to half of their AstraZeneca vaccines left over. Nevertheless, the RIVM indicates that about 650,000 shots have been taken since 2 April.The current relaxation of the measures is based on the figures from the central government and the RIVM, but these are not correct. In some regions, far fewer people over 60 are vaccinated than they should. This is especially the case in the Rotterdam Rijnmond region and the northern provinces. They had just started administering the AstraZeneca vaccine there when the commotion started.
At the moment there is already a lot of criticism about the figures surrounding the corona vaccine. For example, many figures would be calculated instead of registered because the systems do not function optimally. Every injection must be registered and forwarded to the RIVM. At the GGD this is done automatically, but GPs have to do it manually. This takes a long time and, according to the RIVM, results in a lot of reporting backlogs. That is why RIVM makes a calculation based on the deliveries of the vaccines. They take into account a spillage of 1%.
Low turnout corona vaccine
Paul de Jong, a general practitioner from Amsterdam, states that he has ordered 220 vaccines, but has only supplied 100. He has given 20 to colleagues and saves the rest for the next round. Other GPs who do have a higher turnout put a lot of work into it. They talk to doubters, send personal letters to patients, and generally have more contact with their patients. This can make the vaccination process difficult.
Many patients canceled their appointment after the injection stop, or simply did not show up. This caused the low turnout for the corona vaccine. The ministry has not made any calculations and has temporarily suspended the estimates. From 13 April, after the news from Minister Hugo de Jonge, the calculations continued. According to the minister, it was true that many injections were not taken, but that they were drawn up after a while so that the calculation could be continued again.
Many vaccines are thrown away
According to the LHV, far fewer vaccines are used than the RIVM indicates. Sometimes vaccines are even thrown away because they were prepared for people who didn't show up. In addition, many general practitioners also have vaccines in the refrigerator that have not been used, but which have been included in the calculation.While general practitioners were first allowed to give the remaining vaccines to people under 60, this was no longer allowed later, due to Hugo de Jonge's law. The elderly were allowed to receive these remaining vaccines, but often it was the turn of the GGD for the Pfizer vaccine earlier. This has partly contributed to the low turnout of the corona vaccine. The doctors' federation, KNMG, indicated on April 23 that people younger than 60 can now also have a vaccine, but only if they also give permission for this.
According to the RIVM, it is true that many unprepared vaccines are included in the calculations, but that this would be because general practitioners have not yet completed their registration. Doctors disagree with this. According to them, they wait at most a day before entering the data, but they do pass on the vaccines.
