In Great Britain, the first woman to be vaccinated against corona was Margaret Keenan, now 91. In the Netherlands, the elderly are not at the forefront of vaccination, even though the Health Council advises this time and again. Healthcare providers go first.
President of the Health Council Bart-Jan Kullberg expressed his frustration about this in de Volkskrant. Precisely in these times of scarcity, difficult choices have to be made – who is already getting a vaccine and who has to wait months? The Health Council has weighed up the scientific information and has come to the same conclusion several times: the elderly must first be vaccinated, because that saves most lives. ‘What is specific about Covid-19 is that the risk of death increases so exceptionally steeply with higher ages. An 80-year-old has a much greater chance of dying from the virus than a 30-year-old,” explains Kullberg in de Volkskrant. Second reason: if the elderly are vaccinated, there will be less pressure on healthcare.
Own strategy
The government chooses its own vaccination strategy and can deviate from the Health Council’s advice. The government does the same, because no older people have been vaccinated yet. So far, the caregivers have been first. There are several reasons for this. The Pfizer vaccine turned out to be in large boxes, while it also has to be stored at -70 degrees. This makes it difficult to get the vaccines to nursing homes, let alone people’s homes. That is why the caregivers of the elderly were first called upon for a vaccine. The elderly are thus indirectly protected. But that was the second choice, says the Health Council. It is better to vaccinate the elderly yourself.
Lobbies
Another reason: lobbies arose to put healthcare providers ahead of the curve. In talk shows they made a plea for a vaccine for their profession. Result: the acute care employees and the general practitioners were then also left behind and the elderly moved back a bit in the row. There may be good reasons for this, Kullberg agrees, but the priority should be with the elderly. He therefore now mentions a target: 9 out of 10 available vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna should go to people over 60, with or without disease, starting with the oldest. Especially because this type of vaccine (RNA vaccine) works well in the elderly.
