Several XL locations where corona shots are being taken will close their doors this month. The mega locations in Amersfoort, Houten and the Utrecht Jaarbeurs will be closed, among others. Last week the last shots were taken in the Van Nelle Factory in Rotterdam.
According to the GGDs, the megalocations are no longer necessary, now that some 8.7 million people have been fully vaccinated and 3.6 million others have been partially vaccinated. Smaller vaccination locations are being set up for the almost 3 million Dutch people who have not yet had a shot but want to. Mobile injection buses will also be running in Zaanstreek-Waterland, Zuid-Holland-Zuid and IJsselland.
Without an appointment
The GGD Utrecht is also going to vaccinate in a more targeted way. Since January, 1.3 million shots have been taken in that region, 145,000 of which at the XL location in Houten. That location will close after today, the last shot will be put there just before 8 p.m. tonight.
Smaller locations have now been set up in the Utrecht region that are open one day a week and where people can also walk in without an appointment. “We go more towards the people, instead of bringing them to us,” explains vaccination manager Maaike Schaap.
Theaters and gymnasiums
“We are seeing a decline in the number of appointments at the XL locations,” she says. “Anyone who wants it has had the opportunity to make an appointment to get vaccinated. Now it’s important to go to people in neighborhoods and neighborhoods where vaccine willingness is not so high.”
According to Schaap, this mainly concerns people under the age of 35, although the GGD Utrecht does not yet have all the data on the willingness to vaccinate in the region. “We notice that the threshold for going to a large vaccination location is quite high for some people. That is why we are now focusing on smaller-scale locations, such as community centers, theatres, churches and gyms. These are well-known places for people, so maybe it is then easier to walk in.”
Third shot
If it is decided that in the Netherlands a third boosterVaccination is necessary, as is the case in Germany, the United Kingdom and Israel, among others, that is perfectly possible, Schaap expects. “We are prepared for the scenario of the third shot. This way we keep three major locations in the region open.”
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