The Ministry of Health (VWS) still has 6.9 million self-tests in stock that are intended for minimum income, people with a low income or benefits. Municipalities are responsible for distributing the six tests per person. A tour of the four largest municipalities shows that only The Hague sent all the tests to the target group.
VWS has purchased six self-tests per person for the period from mid-February to 1 July. That is a total of eleven million self-tests, intended for people with an income up to 120 percent of the social minimum.
In Rotterdam, 74,000 people are eligible for the free tests. So far, the municipality has given away about 65,000 self-tests. That’s not even one test per person.
According to a spokesperson, they are distributed through municipal locations and through partners such as food banks, “where the target group comes and where they know the target group”. The people who hand out the tests do not test on the spot how much someone earns.
Utrecht minima are also nowhere near six tests per person. The municipality has acquired 51,200 units and has not yet passed it. The target group consists of 39,000 people.
They can pick up a test at the food bank, in neighborhood centers and at municipal locations. The municipality still has tests left, while the ministry has another 230,400 units ready for Utrecht, a Utrecht spokesperson said.
Amsterdam first distributed its own stock
The municipality of Amsterdam will start next week with the distribution of the first 20,000 tests from the VWS stock. A spokesperson said that the city government recently distributed 70,000 tests from its own stock. In December, the municipality already sent 100,000 packages containing two tests and two mouth caps. “We are only now arriving at the self-tests that VWS has purchased,” says a spokesperson for the municipality.
Amsterdam hands out tests to food banks, the Red Cross and community centers. The municipality focuses on neighborhoods with more poverty and a lower vaccination rate. “The target group we focus on is therefore broader than just the minimum wages. We focus on anyone who may encounter a barrier when buying a self-test,” says the spokesperson. It is unclear exactly how large this group is.
Only the municipality of The Hague has served the entire target group with six self-tests per person. There, 85,000 people received the tests by mail at the beginning of April.
Utrecht sees a decline in demand for tests among all groups
The ministry spokesman makes no statements about the results so far: “Municipalities are free in the way in which they distribute the self-tests. After all, they know best how to reach this target group.” The Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport is in talks with partners about the distribution of tests for minimum wages after 1 July.
According to the Utrecht spokesperson, the need for self-tests is decreasing sharply among all population groups, not just among minimum people. According to him, this is related to the end of corona measures, such as the need for a recovery certificate for access.
Residents of Rotterdam ‘don’t have to travel far’ for a self-test
The spokesperson for Rotterdam says that it has happened a number of times that people with poor health, who have difficulty walking or who do not often leave the house, have difficulty getting a self-test. The city council is trying to overcome this by offering the tests in different neighborhoods so that people “don’t have to travel far if all goes well”. “Partners in the city, such as welfare parties, have also delivered self-tests at home,” the spokesperson concludes.
In addition to the 6.9 million self-tests for social minimums, the VWS also has 3.6 million tests ready for neighborhoods in thirty municipalities with a low vaccination coverage. These were originally 5.5 million units. A spokesperson for VWS says that it is not allowed to share the price per test because this is market-sensitive information.
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