By now, more than a million people in the Netherlands have received their first COVID-19 vaccination. This is about 7% of all inhabitants of the Netherlands aged 18 years and older. The figure below shows the development in vaccination coverage among people aged 80 years and up living at home. They are being vaccinated by the Municipal Public Health Services (GGDs). More vaccination figures are available here.

Figure: Cumulative vaccination coverage per week among people aged 80 years and over living at home, for the first COVID-19 vaccination, by age group.

• Week numbers are calendar weeks (ISO 8601): week 1=4-10 January 2021, week 2=11-17 January 2021, etc. 
• Vaccination coverage is estimated by dividing the number of COVID-19 vaccinations among people with a registered age of 80-84 years, 85-89 years and 90+ by the number of people living at home in this age group according to Statistics Netherlands (CBS) (the total number of inhabitants minus the number of inhabitants in an institution) on 1 January 2020 (most recent data available). It is assumed that people who live in an institution have been vaccinated by the institutional physician or GP and not by the Municipal Public Health Services (GGDs). 
• Reported vaccinations in the weeks preceding the official start date of the first vaccination round for a target group are attributed to the week of the official start date of the first vaccination round for that target group. 

Care workers in district nursing and WMO-based support invited for COVID-19 vaccination
Starting this week, the second group of district nursing employees and care workers in WMO-based support will also be invited to get vaccinated. Care providers funded by a personal budget (PGB) will also be invited shortly. They can make an appointment for vaccination with the AstraZeneca vaccine via the Municipal Public Health Services (GGDs). Care workers who are aged 65 and older or who have specific medical conditions will receive the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

‘Sweep’ of residents living in care institutions
At the end of March, a ‘sweep’ will take place to cover residents living in care institutions who, due to circumstances, have not yet received their first COVID-19 vaccination or who missed their second vaccination. People who received a first vaccination in line with the protocol for avoiding vaccine wastage should also receive a second vaccination in the sweep. These vaccinations are the responsibility of the institution’s own medical department. For more information, see the full news item on Care institutions: vaccination of residents that will be posted shortly.
 

Shelf life
The shelf life of a punctured vial of the AstraZeneca vaccine or of vaccine in the syringe at 2-8 degrees Celsius has been adjusted from 48 hours to 8 hours.

Protection
How effective is the AstraZeneca vaccine in protecting against COVID-19? Cécile van Els, Professor of Vaccinology, explains in this video (in Dutch).

The implementation guidelines for COVID-19 vaccination 2021 have been updated. The latest version of the implementation guidelines is always available online (in Dutch). Section 1.3 outlines the main changes compared to the previous version. 

The webinar on good vaccine management took place on Thursday evening. The online event was intended for vaccine administrators responsible for COVID-19 vaccines and managers and implementers of organisations responsible for COVID-19 vaccination. It was organised by RIVM in conjunction with the Health and Youth Care Inspectorate (IGJ).