Vaccination rates in Amsterdam have fallen for the third year in a row. This increases the risk of an outbreak of an infectious disease. Among babies under the age of two, the vaccination rate will have fallen below 85 percent in 2022. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a target rate of 95 percent to ensure herd immunity so that infectious diseases cannot spread. In Amsterdam, that goal is becoming increasingly out of sight and that is causing headaches for councilor Alexander Scholtes (Public Health, D66), he wrote to the city council on Tuesday.
Figures from the GGD show that the differences between Amsterdam districts have increased. In Nieuw-West the vaccination rate is 71 percent. In the North and South East, the percentage of infants vaccinated against mumps, measles and rubella is just under 85 percent. Only the Centrum district equals the national average with 88 percent. The trend is also visible among Amsterdam toddlers, schoolchildren and adolescents.
Councilor Scholtes compares the situation with neighborhoods in New York and Israel, where measles outbreaks occurred among groups with a low vaccination rate. According to the GGD, the waning enthusiasm for vaccinations is partly due to the aftermath of the corona pandemic, in which confidence in vaccinations has declined. The vaccination rate has also fallen in cities such as Utrecht and The Hague. In Rotterdam, only 65 percent of children under the age of ten have been vaccinated against infectious diseases.
The municipality of Amsterdam is taking measures to convince more people of the usefulness of vaccination. For example, there will be information campaigns and the weekly walk-in vaccination consultation hours will be open more often. (NRC)
A version of this article also appeared in the September 14, 2023 newspaper.
2023-09-14 00:00:00
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