Declining Vaccination Rates in Amsterdam: Concerns of Measles and Mumps Outbreak

We are all still familiar with Corona, but diseases such as measles and mumps are probably less vividly remembered. Yet Gjalt Jellesma, chairman of the Interest Association for Parents in Childcare (Boink), is concerned about a new outbreak. The reason for this is the declining vaccination numbers that were announced yesterday.

While the mumps, measles and rubella vaccination rate was 91 percent in 2015, last year it was 83 percent. “Not only can children become ill or even fatally ill, they can also be seriously damaged for a longer period of time. It really is a rotten disease and I’m only talking about measles,” says Jellesma.

According to virologist Menno de Jong of the Amsterdam UMC, the concerns about an outbreak are well-founded. “If the vaccination rate is declining at this rate, it is not a question of if, but when. We have already seen that in the Bible Belt. And there they are at the level that we are now approaching in Amsterdam,” says the scientist.

In Nieuw-West the percentage is even lower than the Amsterdam average. There the vaccination rate is 71 percent. Jellesma has concerns about the daycare centers in the neighborhood. “A lot of concerns. In an environment where children are already vulnerable, for all kinds of reasons, and then there is a health aspect. If such a childcare center wants to be able to welcome all children, then these kinds of things should not play a role,” he says.

Education

What actually underlies the decline remains to be investigated. “There are thoughts that it has to do with trust in the government. But that requires educating people. Who are those people,” says De Jong. Jellesma has his suspicions about the cause: “Several reasons. Distrust in the government, people spreading disinformation and not knowing what the consequences could be.”

According to Jellesma, there are indeed daycare centers that refuse children without vaccination. Yet he rather sees the solution in information. De Jong also hopes that through information, people will realize that not vaccinating is not a form of resistance against the government. “This vaccine, like the Covid vaccination, is not aimed at fighting a pandemic. These are aimed at protecting our children. I think people should realize that.”

2023-09-14 18:00:00
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