NIPT available as standard option for all pregnant women from 1 April From 1 April 2023, the Non-Invasive Prenatal Test (NIPT) will be available to all pregnant women. They do not have to take part in a scientific study for this.
COVID-19 less severe due to Omicron variants, vaccinations and previous infections The consequences of infections involving the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 are decreasing. This is because nearly everyone in the Netherlands has built up immunity to COVID-19 as a result of vaccination and/or previous infection, and because the current Omicron variants are less likely to cause serious illness.
Young people less likely to contact GP for mental health problems The percentage of young people who report having mental health problems has hardly decreased since the last lockdown (in early 2022).
Brazilian coronavirus variants (P1 and P2) found in the Netherlands Two new variants of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 have been found in the Netherlands, both originating from Brazil.
Last winter’s flu epidemic was short and mild. And then COVID-19 arrived. The flu epidemic in the winter of 2019/2020 was mild and lasted only 5 weeks.
UK variant gains ground in the Netherlands In the past week, from 20 to 26 January, the reported number of people who tested positive for COVID-19 decreased slightly, dropping by 8%.
Rise in new COVID-19 variants overshadows more positive developments A moderately positive overview in the number of newly reported people who tested positive for COVID-19 can be observed in the Netherlands in the week of 13 to 19 January, as an effect of the lockdown that started on 15 December.
Tentative decrease becomes visible For the second week in a row, the number of newly reported COVID-19 infections decreased somewhat. The percentage of people who tested positive for COVID-19 decreased slightly, dropping from 13.7% to 12.8%.
South African coronavirus variant found in the Netherlands The South African variant of the coronavirus (501Y.V2) has been identified in the Netherlands for the first time.
Update on the spread of the UK coronavirus variant (VOC 202012/01) in the Netherlands The number of people that have been found to have the new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus variant designated VOC 202012/01 (the UK variant) has risen from 11 to nearly 50 individuals.