No reduction in number of young people with suicidal thoughts In March 2023, 14.1% of young people in the Netherlands (aged 12-25 years) reported seriously thinking about ending their life occasionally, often or very often.
Darker cigarettes and other measures to make cigarettes less appealing There are a number of measures that can be implemented to make cigarettes less appealing and less addictive. For example, manufacturers could make cigarettes a darker colour. They could also stop using ingredients like sugars and flavourings.
Flu epidemic officially over The flu epidemic that started halfway through December 2022 is now over. This is the conclusion drawn by experts of RIVM, Erasmus MC and the Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research (Nivel) on the basis of information supplied by GPs, hospitals and laboratories.
People aged 70 and up invited for repeat vaccination against COVID-19 People aged 70 years and older living in the Netherlands may receive an invitation for a repeat booster against COVID-19 from 26 February 2022 on. They can make an appointment for vaccination by the Municipal Public Health Services (GGDs).
Booster vaccination prevents many hospital and ICU admissions In the period from 26 January to 8 February 2022, the COVID-19 vaccines were 92% effective in preventing hospital admission after the booster, and 55% effective after the basic vaccinations.
Weekly vaccination figures per neighbourhood available through open data As of today, RIVM will publish weekly updates on vaccination turnout and vaccination coverage per neighbourhood in the Netherlands, both cumulative and broken down by calendar week.
Boosters improve diminished protection against Omicron infection after basic COVID-19 vaccination or previous infection Vaccination or previous infection with the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 provide less effective protection against the Omicron variant compared to the Delta variant. A COVID-19 booster vaccination ensures renewed protection against Omicron.