From 1 June 2022, the heel prick test for Dutch newborns will also screen for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). SMA is a serious hereditary muscle condition. Detecting this disease at an early stage enables early treatment.

Immigrants are relatively less likely to take part in preventive screening programmes, such as cancer screening. This is partly due to the language barrier and a lack of knowledge, according to a doctoral thesis by Nora Hamdiui.

Participation in the vaccinations against mumps, measles and rubella (MMR) and diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), tetanus and polio) (DTaP-IPV) has decreased slightly among infants (-1%).

Now not only girls, but also boys will have the opportunity to protect themselves from cancer caused by HPV.

Women aged 50 to 75 years on Bonaire can participate in the breast cancer screening programme again as of Wednesday, May 26, 2021. This was temporarily halted in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

National immunisation coverage has increased for the first time in five years, for almost all vaccinations. For children born in 2017, vaccination coverage against mumps, measles and rubella (MMR) increased by 0.7% to 93.6%.

For the first time in five years, the number of children receiving vaccinations from the National Immunisation Programme has increased slightly.

Nearly all infants in the Netherlands are still participating in the National Immunisation Programme.

Due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, the health care capacity in the Netherlands is expected to come under severe pressure in the coming period.

The percentage of newborns participating in the immunisation programme targeting mumps, measles and rubella rose slightly over the past year.