A short explanation of the process from selection, invitation and vaccination. More information about pneumococcal vaccination for the elderly.

Selection

  • Every year, GPs use their electronic patient dossiers to select the patients in their practice who have grounds for having a flu and or pneumococcal vaccination. They do the same for those patients who live in rest homes for the elderly or nearby asylum-seekers' centres.
  • Geriatricians select the indicated residents of nursing homes and doctors select the indicated residents of those living in homes and hospitals for people with a mental handicap.
  • As of the 2010-2011 season, health care organisations housing people with an indication for flu vaccination but who have no family doctor of their own can order vaccines via the NPG on their behalf. This is aimed at raising the security of supply of the vaccines, and applies, for instance, to mental health care institutions and rehabilitation centres.

Invitation

  • Every year in September, October and November, GPs invite their indicated patients to come in for a vaccination. This GPs send their patients a personal invitation for this vaccination using a letter.
  • The Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) and the Dutch College of General Practitioners (Nederlands Huisartsen Genootschap, NHG) developed an infographic on the influenza vaccination. As of 2009, the NPG has paid to make this infographic available free of charge to general practitioners; as of 2010, it is also available free of charge to the care organisations who can order influenza vaccine via the NPG. 
  • To support the invitations, GPs, pharmacies, hospitals, public health services and others also put up posters reminding people of the flu vaccination.

Vaccination

  • The vaccinations are performed in October and November, usually in a health care organisation or General Practice but sometimes also at a location in the vicinity of a General Practice (e.g. a gym or church hall).

As of 2019, a quadrivalent vaccine is administered.