THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) – Almost two weeks after most other countries in the European Union, the Netherlands started the COVID-19 vaccination program on Wednesday, with nursing home staff and front-line hospital workers standing first in line for admission.
Sanna Elkadiri, a nurse in a nursing home for people with dementia, was the first to receive an injection of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at a mass vaccination center in Veghel, 120 kilometers southeast of the capital, Amsterdam.
“This is a very important moment for me as a person working in healthcare. You want to provide care knowing that your clients are safe, ”said Elkadiri. “I can’t do that without the vaccine, but from now on I can.”
The Dutch government has been strongly criticized due to the late start of vaccinations. Prime Minister Mark Rutte told lawmakers in a debate on Tuesday that authorities had focused preparations on the easy-to-use Oxford University and AstraZeneca vaccine, which has not yet been approved for use in the EU, and not the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. .
Dutch Health Minister Hugo de Jonge did not comment on the criticism when he spoke before Elkadiri rolled up the left sleeve of her purple nurse’s uniform to receive the first shot. Instead, he looked forward to a future with the virus under control.
“Finally, after 10 months of crisis, we are starting today to end this crisis,” said De Jonge. But he warned, “It will be a while before we get all the misery behind us. “
The Pfizer BioNTech vaccine, which requires ultra-cold storage before use, is the only shot approved by the European Medicines Agency to date. On Wednesday, the agency considered approving another coronavirus vaccine, one made by Moderna.
“I am very disappointed that we are two weeks behind other countries,” said Rutte in the Lower House.
The country’s public health institute said about 300,000 caregivers and hospital staff are first in line for admissions. Two more large-scale vaccination centers will open Friday, and 25 should be open nationwide by the end of next week, the institute said.
Health authorities plan to vaccinate up to 66,000 healthcare providers per week from January 18.
In a tweet, Dutch King Willem-Alexander thanked the start of the vaccinations “a turning point that offers hope for a way out of this crisis”.
The Netherlands is in the middle of a five-week severe lockdown imposed as infection rates spiked across the country. Infection rates have fallen slightly in recent days, but the country’s public health institute said on Tuesday that the lockdown has not yet had a clear effect on infection rates.
Nearly 12,000 people have died from COVID-19 in the Netherlands since the start of the pandemic, although the actual number is higher because not all people who died with symptoms were tested.
Andre Rouvoet, chairman of the umbrella organization of local health authorities, welcomed the first vaccinations, which were broadcast live on Dutch television.
“It symbolizes the hundreds of thousands – millions – of vaccinations that will be administered in the Netherlands in the coming months,” he said.
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