Anyone aged 12 and older can get a repeat jab against corona this fall. People with a higher risk of becoming seriously ill and healthcare workers with patient and/or client contact are the first to act. They will receive an invitation from 13 September 2022 and can visit the GGD by appointment from 19 September 2022. After this, anyone from the age of 12 who wishes to receive a repeat injection as a precaution. This can help prevent a resurgence of the coronavirus. This is what Minister Kuipers of Health, Welfare and Sport writes to the House of Representatives in response to the additional advice of the OMT Vaccinations (OMT-V). Based on this advice, new vaccines from BioNTech/Pfizer and Moderna are used. These protect against more variants of the coronavirus.
After vaccination with the renewed vaccines, antibodies are created that offer protection against more variants of the coronavirus, such as the omikron variant. Previous vaccines only targeted the original Wuhan variant which is now no longer dominant. The renewed mRNA vaccines have been registered as a repeat shot for all target groups from 12 years of age and have been positively assessed by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). The repeat jab can be given from 3 months after the last corona jab or corona infection to people who have completed at least the basic vaccination.
Maintaining protection
The repeat vaccination against corona is necessary to prevent serious illness, hospitalization and death from the corona virus as much as possible and to maintain protection against the virus. The repeat shot ensures that people become less ill as a result of the corona virus. People may also be less susceptible to infection after the repeat injection and they are less able to transfer the virus to others. Vaccination thus helps to keep healthcare and society open to everyone.
Timeline
From 13 September, people aged 60 and over will receive an invitation from the RIVM. People aged 12 to 59 who are annually invited for the flu shot will receive an invitation for the repeat shot from their GP from the beginning of October. Healthcare employees with patient and/or client contact are invited at the same time by their employer. After this, anyone aged 12 and older can get a repeat shot at the GGD by appointment. The first injections will be administered at the GGD from 19 September 2022.