Acting Health Minister Hugo de Jonge has said that it is realistic to plan for all adults in the Netherlands receiving the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine by July.

Majority of Dutch population can be fully vaccinated by July

Speaking on the TV show Op1 on Tuesday evening, De Jonge revised the initial plan laid out by the Dutch government, which stated that everyone should receive the first jab by the beginning of October. 

He said that, based on recent developments, he is feeling more optimistic about coronavirus vaccinations in the Netherlands, and feels confident that anyone who wants to be vaccinated can receive the first of two doses by July, as long as all vaccine deliveries go ahead as planned. “I think that by the end of the second quarter, we should have been able to carry out 18 million injections,” he said.

The government expects between 80 and 85 percent of the 14 million adults in the Netherlands to agree to be immunised against coronavirus. The vaccination predictions state that two-thirds of adults will likely be fully vaccinated by the beginning of July, and the remaining adults will have had their first jab.

Increasing number of coronavirus vaccinations in the Netherlands

If De Jonge’s plans come to fruition, all signs point to the Netherlands enjoying a fairly normal summer, with the Health Minister saying he expects the government will be able to “considerably scale down” the national restrictions during the second quarter of 2021. 

Pressure on the Dutch government to relax coronavirus restrictions has been growing over the past weeks, and mayors across the country are calling on the cabinet to ease more measures now that the number of vaccinations is rising. After a slow start to the campaign, the Netherlands now has the fourth-highest vaccination rate in the EU.

So far, almost 1,4 million people have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine. The three vaccines currently being rolled out in the Netherlands - Pfizer / BioNTech, Moderna, and AstraZeneca - require two jabs, but the Janssen vaccine, which is expected to be approved by the European Medicines Agency next week, comprises of only one jab.