Society is slowly opening up, but Annelies Hilgersom (52) doesn’t notice anything. “I have been at home from day one of the lockdown,” she says. “My son doesn’t go to school, my husband is home all day too.”
In 2007 Annelies got a new kidney from her husband Raymond. Since then she has been taking drugs that suppress her immune system. This is necessary so that her body does not reject her kidney. But because of those drugs, the two corona vaccinations do not work well enough. Because the immune system has to make the antibodies against the coronavirus.
Extra risky
Corona is especially risky for people with an immune disorder. They end up in ICU more often and the chance of dying is greater than in healthy people. The Health Council states that an insufficient or no immune response can be seen in some people with a malfunctioning immune system after the first vaccinations. “A third dose may increase the immune response.”
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Annelies is thrilled that she is getting a third vaccination. “We mainly live at home and in the garden. We go outside once a day to a large parking lot in an abandoned industrial area. There we can run and play football. We sometimes also go for a breath of fresh air on the beach at 7 am. And a neighbor has a sister with a farm with many meadows, where we can also take a quiet walk, have a picnic and fish among the rabbits and the black-tailed godwits.”
‘Don’t know if it works’
But most of the day is mostly spent at home. Annelies hopes that after her third vaccination her body will produce enough antibodies so that she dares to pick up life again. However, she also has a clear caveat. “I participated in a scientific study. Because of this I know that I do have antibodies against corona, but not very many. To know whether I have more antibodies to go outside after that third vaccination, I need an antibody test. But you don’t just get that.”
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An antibody test after a corona vaccination is not common. “There is no standard research into the levels of the antibodies after a vaccination,” a spokesperson for the RIVM said. “It is up to the patient to discuss the risks with the treating physician.”
For the time being, Annelies will stay inside, even after her third shot. “Otherwise it’s just Russian roulette, I don’t know if that third jab works.”
‘I fall outside the group’
Also the immune system of Nicole Maarssen (52) does not work as well as in a healthy person. She has the rare condition CVID, she was born with a malfunctioning immune system. Nicole is not eligible for a third shot. “In my opinion, research has been done among a number of patient groups and policy has been made accordingly. There is such a strong selection, like: that group does, that group does not. I fall outside the group that is entitled to a third shot and that’s where I am. very disappointed with it.”
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Nicole has also been in quarantine since the start of the corona crisis. “I have my groceries delivered, see as few other people as possible. I only occasionally let people in who have been vaccinated and have done a rapid test, otherwise I don’t dare. This is on the advice of my doctor, who says: keep your to the measures and avoid other people as much as possible. But that loneliness is now starting to get really heavy.”
‘Doctor wants to, but is not allowed’
It is difficult to find out in patients with CVID whether a corona vaccination is useful or not. A group does respond to the vaccine, but a large group does not. “It is logical that I cannot be vaccinated well, I have to get that shot repeatedly to make enough antibodies. But I also know that I do make antibodies. Not much, but some.”
“So I hope that with an extra vaccine I will be better protected. My treating doctor, who has known me for years, would like to give me the shot, but she is stuck with government guidelines. I would like the treating doctors to decide , not the government.”
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Who does, who doesn’t?
To determine who gets the third shot, a working group of medical specialists and people from the RIVM have made a selection of nine disorders came. It concerns between 200,000 and 400,000 patients over the age of 12 with a severe immune disorder.
“The specialists have looked within their own patient file to see who the patients are who benefit from such a third injection,” a spokesperson said. “Unfortunately, there are always patients who fall outside this group. That is very unfortunate, but we will continue to talk to each other. Perhaps something will change for them in the future.
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