Modification date 10-10-2024 | 11:25

It is important that vaccines work well, and offer protection against disease. At the same time, vaccines also need to be safe for your health. This page describes how COVID-19 vaccines work.

Vaccination helps the body build protection against severe disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. If you get a SARS-CoV-2 infection, you also build up protection against severe disease for the next time you get the virus. If some time has passed since the last vaccination or infection, that protection against COVID-19 grows weaker. Another COVID-19 vaccination helps to boost immunity again. 

Building protection against infection

The coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 adapts and changes. Along the way, new variants and sub-variants of the virus emerge. Read more on the RIVM page about Variants of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Often, this does not mean the vaccine is no longer effective. Variants of the virus are subjected to research at the national and international levels to determine how they respond to the COVID-19 vaccines. RIVM also closely monitors changes in the virus. 

These changes usually involve minimal differences in the virus. Even if a vaccine is slightly less effective against a variant, it can still protect against serious illness and death.

If necessary, the COVID-19 vaccines will be adapted in response to these new variants.  

RIVM is conducting research on COVID-19 and vaccination. This includes studies on the level of protection among the population of the Netherlands, the vaccines themselves, the burden of disease (hospital and ICU admission), and human behaviour and vaccination behaviour.  

More information about vaccine-induced protection against hospital and ICU admission from COVID-19 is available on the RIVM page about COVID-19 hospital admissions according to vaccination status. Since the start of 2024, RIVM has had more limited access to data on hospital admissions due to COVID-19. As a result, ongoing up-to-date analysis of COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness in preventing hospital admissions is no longer possible as of January 2024. However, RIVM will continue analysing vaccine-induced protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection in the VASCO study. Read more about COVID-19 vaccination and protection against infection and transmission on the RIVM page about COVID-19 research.  

For COVID-19 vaccination in the Netherlands, an mRNA vaccine is available. For people who are not able or willing to get an mRNA vaccine, a protein subunit vaccine will be made available. The plan was to use the protein subunit vaccine made by HIPRA (Bimermax JN.1), but the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has not yet completed its assessment. EMA approval is necessary before the vaccine can be used. It is not yet known when the EMA will be reaching its decision. Keep an eye on the RIVM website for updates on when the protein subunit vaccine is available.

  • The COVID-19 vaccine made by Pfizer/BioNTech (Comirnaty) is an mRNA vaccine. This mRNA vaccine contains a protective envelope of lipids (fat) with instructions (code) that tell your cells to make spike proteins. These proteins are the spiky protrusions on the exterior of the coronavirus. The immune system recognises the spike proteins as foreign substances and starts making antibodies. 

Read more about the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

Package leaflet for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine against COVID-19

There is no gelatine, chicken protein or antibiotics in the mRNA vaccines made by Pfizer/BioNTech.