Infectious diseases also have a greater chance in Lingewaard…

D66 Lingewaard asks questions about the nationally declining vaccination rate

The declining vaccination rate against infectious diseases among children is national news. The spread of measles, mumps, whooping cough and polio, for example, was limited in the Netherlands until 2020 because more than 90% of children could not get and transmit them through vaccinations or only to a lesser extent. That percentage has now dropped to 84%, which means that the diseases now have a chance to spread. D66 Lingewaard asked what that percentage was in Lingewaard, whether there is also a decrease here and what the municipality is doing about it.

In Lingewaard, 96% of two-year-old children were fully vaccinated in 2021. Now it is 86%, the council answers. Of the remaining 14%, 1.8% have not been vaccinated at all (nationally this is 5.9%), 12.2% have already had their first vaccination. It is expected that the latter group will receive the second injection from the National Vaccination Program. For the time being, this means that in Lingewaard there are mainly ‘late injections’, but this does create more room than before for infectious diseases in the most vulnerable group.

With 95% of children fully vaccinated, the World Health Organization (WHO) states that the diseases mentioned will be eradicated, with 90% the risk of outbreaks is limited. There was recently a measles outbreak in Eindhoven and the RIVM reports that 4 babies have already died from whooping cough this year, which is considerably more than in previous years. Psychologists cite the fact that for years there have been few or no outbreaks of infectious diseases against which vaccination is given in the Netherlands as a reason that young parents underestimate the severity. In addition, alternative sources of health are increasingly being considered than what is accepted as regular in the Netherlands with scientific substantiation. Individual freedom is the starting point for many, but when it comes to vaccinations this affects the freedom of others and the protection of society. The government is responsible for the latter according to the law, whereby the elected politicians determine what ‘protection of society’ means. If this is compromised because, for example, the vaccination rate drops, politicians question the government’s actions.

For the time being, the government is working with the medical world to reverse the downward trend by providing additional information. They are also working on lowering the threshold for vaccination locations. For example, injections can be done regularly outside office hours and there are individual vaccination consultation hours, for example for status holders and children with a fear of injections. Older children can also still be vaccinated during vaccination consultation hours and local vaccination sessions of the GGD. The Lingewaard council points this out and cooperates. She herself shares the concerns, as appears from answers to questions from D66 Lingewaard. Daycare centers are informed by the municipality about the National Vaccination Program, and the municipality also focuses on communication through clinics and midwifery practices. Refusing unvaccinated children from daycare centers is not an option for the time being. That is not allowed just like that. However, a childcare organization may decide to refuse children if there is an outbreak, as a result of which the health of the children staying at that location is at risk.

– By the political editors –