Van Ooijen’s predecessor, Paul Blokhuis, had advised in September to include it in the National Immunization Programme. He had left the final decision to the new cabinet. It now appears that the vaccine is not yet included in the program.
Thousands of recordings can be prevented
Every year an average of 3600 small children end up in hospital with rota. In a single case, children can die from it, which happens five to seven times a year.
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What is Rotavirus?
A rotavirus infection is a contagious disease in which the stomach and intestines become inflamed. Symptoms of illness are fever, nausea, vomiting and severe watery diarrhea. Rotavirus infections are common in the Netherlands, especially in young children between 6 months and 2 years old.
The rotavirus is in the feces of someone who is infected. The disease is contagious from the moment there are symptoms. The contagiousness lasts about a week.
Source: RIVM
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But if all children are vaccinated, 1930 to 3,389 hospital admissions per year can be prevented, Blokhuis wrote in a letter to parliament last year.
HPV and flu shot
State Secretary Van Ooijen says that the financial resources are ‘really limited at the moment’. “We had to make choices.” Pediatrician and epidemiologist Patricia Bruijning is outraged. “I don’t understand this decision, children are the victims of this.”
Bruijning had not expected the decision, especially because the Health Council previously advised to provide scope for vaccination. “If I were the Chamber, I would lie in front of this. This is not a good concern.”
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Last February, more children than usual were hospitalized with rota. At that time, no decision had yet been made about vaccination, but said Van Ooijen’s spokesperson did: “we do our best to follow the advice of the Health Council.” Three months later, the situation turns out to be different.
So no room has been made for rota. Van Ooijen: “It remains possible for parents who wish to have their child(ren) vaccinated against rotavirus. The vaccine is available on prescription from the general practitioner and some GGDs and vaccination centers. Parents must do this themselves. Pay.”
You can pay yourself
That costs parents 138 euros for two doses for a full vaccination. This should be a lot cheaper for the government. Experts point out that it will be much cheaper if you as a government buy this in bulk, but that will not happen in the near future.
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There will be more room for an additional HPV vaccination campaign and an expansion of the group that receives the flu shot. For HPV, this means ‘from this spring, boys will also be vaccinated in addition to girls and the vaccination age will be lowered to the year the child turns 10’. Van Ooijen: “In addition, there will be a large-scale catch-up campaign for girls and boys up to the age of 18, spread over two years.”
Pay yourself
With the flu shot, extra room is made for a number of new risk groups that have been appointed by the Health Council. According to Van Ooijen, this concerns people who have experienced COVID-19 and suffered lung damage, people with morbid obesity, with dementia and all healthy pregnant women from 22 weeks of pregnancy.
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