Frequently asked questions and answers about pregnancy and the flu vaccine.

Flu vaccination during pregnancy is safe for you and your baby. Extensive research has confirmed this. Since 2021, pregnant women have been able to get the flu vaccine in the Netherlands. The rest of the world approved it much earlier, and experiences have been positive.

Newborn babies have a higher risk of serious consequences from flu, such as hospital admission. If the mother gets the flu vaccine during pregnancy, the baby less likely to get the flu after being born. The flu vaccine also helps pregnant women directly. Pregnant women who have flu are more likely to need hospital admission than women of the same age who have flu and are not pregnant. The flu vaccine is safe for babies and for pregnant women.

RIVM monitors the development of the flu virus in various ways. We call this ‘surveillance’. As part of these efforts, we work closely with Nivel, Erasmus University Medical Center (Erasmus MC) and laboratories in the Netherlands. We track how many people there are in the Netherlands with flu-like symptoms and look at which type of flu virus is most prevalent.

Influenza, or flu for short, is caused by the flu virus (influenza virus). It is an infectious respiratory disease. People often refer to all types of illnesses with symptoms like a cold, cough and fever as ‘flu’, but these symptoms can also occur with other viruses, such as the coronavirus. The information on this page only concerns actual flu, caused by the influenza virus.

More information about which parties are involved, current development and history and funding and international context.

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Na un manera simpel e video aki ta duna mas informashon tokante di grip i e prik di grip.

This video presents further information on flu and the flu jab in a simple way.