Project report
The National Immunisation Programme in the Netherlands : Surveillance and developments in 2019-2020
TM Schurink-van 't Klooster, HE de Melker ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This report describes the National Immunisation Programme in the Netherlands during 2019-2020, documenting vaccination coverage and disease notification rates. Over 1.5 million children and pregnant women received vaccines in 2019, with national coverage rising for the first time in five years. Most vaccine-preventable diseases remained at low levels, though measles (84 cases) and mumps (131 cases) were relatively elevated. The programme introduced new vaccinations including meningococcal MenACWY and pertussis vaccination for pregnant women, which led to decreased notifications of meningococcal W disease.
Key points
- National immunisation coverage rose slightly in 2019 for the first time in five years
- No notifications reported for diphtheria, tetanus, rubella, and polio in 2019
- Meningococcal W disease notifications decreased after introduction of MenACWY vaccination, reversing a rise from 9 cases in 2015 to 103 in 2018
- Pertussis notifications increased to 6,383 cases in 2019; pregnant women vaccination began to prevent severe disease in infants
- Rotavirus vaccination planned for high-risk infants was cancelled in April 2020 due to lower-than-expected vaccine effectiveness
Limitations
This is a surveillance report focused on disease notification rates and programme implementation rather than evaluating intervention effectiveness or child health outcomes. It does not assess health equity, access disparities, or long-term population health impacts.
Abstract
Under the National Immunisation Programme (NIP), 1,520,301 children and pregnant women were vaccinated in the Netherlands in 2019. Together, they received a total of 2,929,264 vaccinations. National immunisation coverage rose slightly for the first time in five years. In 2019, there were no notifications for diphtheria, tetanus, rubella, and polio. As in previous years, the number of notifications was low for Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib; 39). The number of measles notifications was relatively high (84). The number of mumps cases (131) was double the number reported in the previous year. The number of notifications of hepatitis B (1205) remained stable. The number of notifications of meningococcal W disease (62) decreased after introduction of MenACWY-vaccination into the NIP (for 14-month-olds and 14-year-olds). This ended the rise in notifications from 2015 to 2018 (from 9 to 103). The number of pertussis notifications (6383) increased compared with 2018. Since the end of 2019, pregnant women are vaccinated against pertussis to prevent severe pertussis in infants. From March 2020 to June, during the Dutch COVID-19 response measures, including social distancing and school closure, the reported incidence of pertussis, invasive pneumococcal disease, meningococcal disease and mumps dropped. The Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport has decided in April 2020 to cancel the implementation of rotavirus vaccination for children with an high risk for severe disease in the NIP. A new study showed lower vaccine-effectiveness estimates for high-risk infants than expected. The ministry asked for a new advise of the Health Council, which is expected in 2021. In 2020, the intention was to offer pneumococcal vaccination to elderly 60, 65, 70 and 75 years of age. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, priority in this year has been given to the oldest age groups (73- to 79-year-olds).