Whether it makes the vaccination puzzle easier is the question. But more and more people are calling for GPs and patients to decide together whether they want the AstraZeneca vaccine or not. A group of GPs will nail a ‘motion of censure’ on the door of the Health Council tomorrow.
The Amsterdam GP Bart Meijman, of the action committee ‘We have to change course’, is one of them. He is very unhappy with the decision to stop giving AstraZeneca to under-60s. “We are angry about the advice that is causing so much panic. The Health Council has made itself responsible for a much greater health damage than the very rare complications of this vaccine. This advice is extremely harmful.”
Dialogue
“People over 60, sometimes with many health complaints and therefore very much benefit from rapid vaccination, are now more often refraining from it. They think: that vaccine is wrong with that. That thing stinks. The sad thing is that especially in the group. Many people die between the ages of 60 and 70. If you compare that with the extremely low risk, it is a worrying advice. It will be difficult to vaccinate these people, “says Meijman.
He thinks that the Health Council puts too many people together. “One forty is not the other forty. It is smart for someone in 40 with COPD or obesity to get a vaccine quickly. Also the AstraZeneca vaccine. Because the chance that covid will end badly there is much greater than with a healthy in their 40s. We believe that GPs should be able to make this assessment in consultation with the patient. “
Risks more transparent
Marcel Verweij, professor of Philosophy and expert in the field of ethical aspects of vaccination, can understand the advice of the Health Council. “Unfortunately, people have too often doubts about vaccination, but the government actually makes it very clear: look at how careful we are. Almost too careful. Nobody can say that side effects are being contaminated in society.”
In Germany, GPs and patients are allowed to jointly decide on the vaccine, but in the Netherlands the Ministry of Public Health does not see this at all for the time being. The RIVM says that people under 60 will receive a different vaccine than AstraZeneca. More about this will be announced next week.
General practitioner Meijman fears even more problems. “The trouble is that the damage has already been done. Confidence has become questionable. The Health Council must look at the effect on public health. What will happen if side effects are reported with the Janssen vaccine?”
This is what the practice looks like at many general practitioners, after the advice of the Health Council: “We are chained by this advice. We cannot make our own decisions.”
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GPs angry with the Health Council: ‘People over 60 also cancel’
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