As the number of coronavirus cases in the Netherlands continues to rise, the Dutch government has announced that everyone over the age of 12 will receive their invitations to book an appointment for a second booster jab from next week. 

The Netherlands prepares for next round of booster vaccinations

Over the summer, the government announced that another round of coronavirus vaccinations would take place in the autumn in an attempt to prevent a huge wave of infections and hospital admissions this winter. In September, appointments opened up to people over the age of 60, people who are considered medically vulnerable, and people working in healthcare. Now, invitations will be issued to all adults and teenagers living in the Netherlands. 

The first invitations will be sent out to 40 to 60-year-olds next week, with invitations for people aged 12 to 40 following from October 24. While initially, the government had said that birth year would not determine when you would be able to book an appointment for this round of vaccinations, this decision has been revised. Instead, each day will see different birth years called up to book an appointment. 

Dutch Health Minister says no new COVID-19 measures are needed

The news about the next round of boosters comes as the Netherlands experiences what the National Institute for Public Health and Environment (RIVM) has already dubbed the start of the autumn wave. Between October 3 and October 9, the number of positive tests recorded by the GGD increased by 24 percent. On October 11, 3.982 positive tests were reported.

On October 12, the number of people being treated for COVID-19 in hospitals was 1.156, 46 of which were in intensive care. “Hospital occupancy is now comparable to the number of people hospitalised at the peak of this year's summer wave,” the RIVM says. 

In response to the rising number of cases, Health Minister Ernst Kuipers has raised the warning level from 1 (low risk) to 2 (increased risk). In spite of this, however, Kuipers emphasises that no new coronavirus measures are required for the time being, adding that the Netherlands is still in a better position than this time last year, largely due to the significant number of people that have received at least one round of vaccinations against COVID-19.