The Netherlands to share vaccines with the islands

The Hague,Netherlands : The Dutch Caribbean will surely share in the number of COVID-19 vaccines that will become available for the Netherlands, confirmed Dutch Minister of Public Health, Wellbeing and Sports Hugo de Jonge.

In a message to the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament, De Jonge disclosed that the Ministry of Public Health, Wellbeing and Sports VWS is currently doing an inventory with Dutch Caribbean health care representatives what would be essential to set up a solid vaccination campaign on the islands.

The vaccines for the islands would get out of the share that the Netherlands receives as part of the joint European vaccine buying exercise. The Netherlands Health Council will shortly give information to Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten on the prioritising of point groups in the three countries. The advice is expected in December.

The logistics form a crucial part of the preparation for the vaccination campaign. Though the islands are responsible for the local storage and distribution of the vaccines, assistance from the Netherlands is available. RIVM Netherlands National Institute for Public Health and the Environment has an advisory role and checks whether the requirements of correct vaccine management are adhered to.

Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten have the final say in which priority groups get injected first. For Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba, the situation is different as they are an integral part of the Netherlands.

The Health Council, the advisory body of the Dutch government and Parliament where it concerns issues of national well-being, in its advice of last Thursday to Minister De Jonge prescribed to first vaccinate persons of 60 years and older, as well as health care workers.

The permanent vaccinations panel of the Health Council estimated whether it was important to deviate for the Caribbean Netherlands in the prioritisation of vaccinations, and found no reason to do so. “While the epidemiological and the social impact of COVID-19 is different than the situation in the Netherlands, the advice is also applicable to the Caribbean Netherlands,” the Council stated.