In the past, Margot Cloet of hospital and rest home network Zorgnet-Icuro was in favor of compulsory vaccination for healthcare staff. She understands that the mandatory jab is now less urgent due to the decreasing number of infections, but does hope that the planned law on mandatory vaccination – which is now being discussed in parliament – will not end up in the trash: With an increasing number of infections, we must be able to switch quickly and be able to vaccinate healthcare staff. So I hope that legislation will be passed.”
In that case, Cloet does not want only healthcare providers to be obliged to be vaccinated against the corona virus, but that the regulations apply to everyone who works in healthcare. “Just think of social workers or teachers, for example.”
Because, she emphasizes, the situation in healthcare is far from normalized: “Sometimes it seems as if hospitals are in a different world from the rest of society. They keep going through severe weather. People are still being admitted with a corona infection. In the meantime, the flu is also spreading, and the emergency services are busy because some general practitioners drop out due to the heavy workload.”