Now that the newspapers are talking about the increase in the number of infections with the coronavirus, you may wonder: why are we not hearing from the Health Council about a repeat shot (revaccination)?
On 25 March 2022, the Health Council issued a general advice indicating when repeat shots may be necessary in the coming year. With this so-called application framework, an initiative of the Health Council, the Council has enabled faster decision-making. In this way, the Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport can decide, in consultation with RIVM, whether it is necessary to offer certain groups a corona vaccine.
Whether revaccination is necessary for certain groups depends, among other things, on the expected corona wave (‘the epidemiological situation’) and the protection provided by the vaccines. RIVM assesses the situation and, if necessary, convenes the expert team for COVID-19 vaccinations (OMT-V) to advise the minister on revaccination.
The Health Council has Application framework revaccination against COVID-19 the principles for decision-making, but is no longer involved in their implementation. In this way, the repeat shots with the mRNA vaccines can be used faster and more flexibly. The Council does advise, for example, when new vaccines are approved, about their use in the vaccination program or if it is desirable to change the objectives or target groups of the vaccination programme. In addition, the Council is working on advice on long-term corona vaccination. That may appear in 2023, when more is expected to be known about the corona virus.
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