Other epidemiologists also wonder whether this choice is simply a mistake. But that is not the case, says Christian Hoebe, professor of infectious disease control at Maastricht University and a member of the Outbreak Management Team and the Health Council. The actual risk with corona is more dependent on age than on existing medical complaints.
“If you have a medical indication, you are about two or three times more likely to become seriously ill or die from corona. By 90, it could be 15 times as much,” says Hoebe. “Age is therefore the biggest risk factor.”
The Ministry of Health also gives a similar explanation. “People aged 60+ run a higher risk in any case – regardless of whether there is underlying suffering. That is why it was decided to let go of this distinction in this group. . “
It is therefore not a problem that the medical indication for the elderly is not taken into account, says Hoebe. But the fact that the group of 18 to 60 years with a medical indication is now the turn of the elderly to receive the vaccinations is a bad thing, he says. “It has never been the intention that someone 19 years old with medical problems can now receive a vaccine earlier than someone aged 75 with medical problems.”
From 100 years down
That is why it is important that the elderly are vaccinated immediately, Hoebe continues. The Health Council advised this yesterday even though. “Actually we have to start working down from 100 years.” But that will not happen, let the ministry know.
The choice to vaccinate all elderly people later has to do with logistics. The group of 18 to 60 year olds with a medical indication is vaccinated with the vaccine from pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca. For the elderly, adequate supplies of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are awaited, which may be more effective in the elderly.
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