News | RIVM

Vaccination coverage decreased slightly among babies and toddlers, while HPV vaccination coverage rose

The percentage of babies and toddlers that were vaccinated in the framework of the National Immunisation Programme appears to have decreased slightly compared to last year. During the same period, there was a clear increase in vaccination coverage for the HPV vaccination, which children receive around the age of 10 years.

Data from National Immunisation Programme available through MijnRIVM and in personal digital health environments

From 20 November on, data from National Immunisation Programme will be available through the client portal provided by the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM): Mijn.RIVM.nl . The data can also be accessed through five personal digital health environments qualified for this purpose.

Changes in childhood vaccination schedule for 2025

Starting in 2025, the vaccination schedule used in the National Immunisation Programme for children will be updated. The changes apply to four scheduled vaccination times. This offers children even better protection against infectious diseases, such as measles and whooping cough.

Fewer whooping cough antibodies if vaccination occurs before 24th week of pregnancy

Babies develop fewer antibodies against pertussis (whooping cough) if the mother is given the pertussis vaccine before the 24th week of pregnancy. These findings are from a multi-year study carried out by RIVM among preterm and full-term babies and their mothers.

Vaccination coverage of babies and toddlers remained about the same, but decreased among older children

The percentage of babies and toddlers that were vaccinated in the framework of the National Immunisation Programme remained about the same compared to last year. In children aged 9 years and older, vaccination coverage continued to decrease for most of the national childhood immunisations.

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PhD research shows: ‘repeating vaccination promotes whooping cough resistance’

Repeating vaccination promotes whooping cough resistance. This is evidenced by the PhD research conducted by Pauline Versteegen. She researched post-vaccination immunity to whooping cough in age groups from 7 to 70 years. On Tuesday 28 May, she was awarded her doctoral degree at Utrecht University.

Many serious cases of whooping cough among newborn babies in the Netherlands

The number of newborn babies in the Netherlands who are seriously ill due to whooping cough has been increasingly rapidly in recent weeks. About 110 confirmed cases of whooping cough are now being diagnosed every week among children in the Netherlands, including nearly 20 infants.

Start of rotavirus vaccinations

This week saw the start of babies being vaccinated against the rotavirus. This vaccination is included in the Dutch National Immunisation Programme as of this year. All parents of babies born on or after 1 January 2024 will receive an invitation for this.

National Immunisation Programme: slightly more cases in 2022, but fewer than before the COVID-19 pandemic

In 2022, a slightly higher number of people in the Netherlands contracted diseases covered by the National Immunisation Programme (NIP) compared to 2021. This increase is likely due to the easing of coronavirus measures, such as social distancing.