The current policy on sport and physical activity in the Netherlands expires at the end of this year. The National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) investigated how societal developments could affect sport and physical activity up to 2040. The government can respond to these developments through new policy. RIVM has also expanded an existing computational model.

With autumn approaching, the RSV immunisation programme is resuming today, in which babies receive an injection as protection against RSV. This protects them from serious RSV infections, which are most prevalent in autumn and winter. Babies receiving an injection are 80% less likely to end up in hospital as a result of an RSV infection. The injection has been offered as part of the National Immunisation Programme to all babies up to the age of one since 2025.

Pregnant women and women who have just given birth have more confidence in maternity care when healthcare providers give consistent information. They also perceive maternity care as better. This is shown by a study conducted by the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) into the information women receive during pregnancy and around childbirth.

Based on international research, RIVM has proposed lower advisory values for the chemical formaldehyde in indoor and outdoor air. According to RIVM, these advisory values protect people against possible health effects from inhalation. It is up to the ministries concerned to set new standards based on the advisory values.

The demand for elderly care is not decreasing, but is instead increasingly shifting from care institutions to home-based care. This is the outcome of a study conducted by RIVM. Older people only move to a care institution when their care needs become more intensive, and their stays there are shorter than before.

From September 2026, the National Immunisation Programme will be using a different HPV vaccine: Gardasil 9. This vaccine protects against more types of HPV than the previous vaccine.

In the province of Utrecht, someone has died from West Nile fever. The person contracted the West Nile virus in the Netherlands and died in a hospital. Due to privacy and out of respect for the relatives, RIVM will not make any further statements about this person.

The new autumn round 2026 of COVID-19 vaccinations is about to begin. From 25 August 2026, people at greater risk of becoming seriously ill with COVID-19 can book an appointment with the GGD. Vaccinations will be given from 21 September 2026 at 353 GGD vaccination sites across the Netherlands.

A West Nile virus infection has been confirmed in a blood donor in the Netherlands. This occurred in August 2026 during a Sanquin study among blood donors from areas where the West Nile virus had previously been detected in humans, horses, birds or mosquitoes. A laboratory test (PCR) detected the virus in the donor, who had no symptoms and is still not showing any. The person lives in the province of Utrecht and has not been abroad recently. It is therefore likely that the infection was contracted in the Netherlands.

From Saturday 15 August 2026 at 08:00 in the morning, the National Heatwave Plan will no longer be active in a large part of the country. On Saturday, the plan will only remain in effect in four provinces: Limburg, North Brabant, Gelderland and Overijssel, where a heat intensity of 7–8 is still expected. On Sunday morning at 08:00, the National Heatwave Plan will also be lifted in these four provinces. Naturally, the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) and RIVM will remain on the lookout for new periods of heat.