The National Immunisation Programme in the Netherlands: surveillance and developments in 2016-2017.

Surveillance and developments in 2016-2017 In 2016, about 760,000 children aged 0 to 19 years received a total of 2,140,000 vaccinations within the National Immunisation Programme (NIP). Participation in the NIP was high (more than 90% depending on the vaccine), but dropped by around 0.5% for newborns for the third consecutive year. The participation in vaccinations against human papillomavirus (HPV) declined from 61 to 53 per cent. The number of reports (1,483) of adverse events following immunisation (in total 3,665) in 2016 was comparable to the number of reports in 2015. NIP target diseases The number of reported cases of most NIP target diseases was again low. However, the number of cases of Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) disease in 2016 (n=44) was considerably higher than in the previous five years (22-34 cases), with the highest incidence occurring among children under five years of age. Pertussis incidence in 2016 fits within the usual fluctuations. However, six people died from pertussis in 2016.The incidence of cervical cancer cases increased in 2016 (9.3 per 100,000 compared with 7.7 per 100,000 in 2015). In 2017, two fully vaccinated employees were exposed to a wild poliovirus type 2 (WPV2). Due to strict isolation, no transmission was detected. Potential NIP target diseases An increase in the number of meningococcal (Men) disease was observed after more than two decades of decrease. An ongoing increase in the number of cases of MenW disease has been observed (9, 50 and 34, respectively, in 2015, 2016 and the first five months of 2017). Dutch Health Council recommendations The RIVM facilitate the Dutch Health Council with their recommendations on vaccinations and therefore has collected and structured relevant national and international information in background documents concerning rotavirus, meningococcal disease and HPV.The Health Council has advised earlier that maternal pertussis vaccination should be provided. The Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS) has expressed a positive attitude towards the advice but still has to make a decision. In 2017, the Health Council also advised that all employees who are in close contact with young infants during work should be offered vaccination against pertussis. In addition, the Dutch Health Council advised in September 2017 positive on vaccination against rotavirus and the minister decided to vaccinate against MenACWY in 2018. (aut. ref.

The National Immunisation Programme in the Netherlands : surveillance and developments in 2015-2016.

Surveillance en ontwikkelingen in 2015-2016 In 2015 kregen bijna 770.000 kinderen van 0 tot 19 jaar samen 1.547.000 vaccinaties binnen het Rijksvaccinatieprogramma (RVP). De deelname aan het RVP is met 92 tot 99 procent (afhankelijk van de vaccinatie) nog steeds hoog. Een uitzondering daarop is de vaccinatie tegen het humaan papillomavirus (HPV) met 61 procent. De deelname voor pasgeborenen is voor het tweede achtereenvolgende jaar met ongeveer 0,5 procent gedaald. Meldingen van RVP-ziekten Het aantal gemelde gevallen van de meeste ziekten waartegen via het RVP wordt ingeënt, was wederom laag. Dit gold ook voor het aantal meldingen van mazelen (7) na de grote epidemie in 2013/2014. Kinkhoest kwam in 2015 minder vaak voor (39 per 100.000) dan in het epidemische jaar 2014 (55 per 100.000). Eén zuigeling overleed aan kinkhoest. Het aantal gevallen van ernstige pneumokokkenziekte - veroorzaakt door de drie typen waarmee het pneumokokkenvaccin werd uitgebreid in 2011 - bleef bij kinderen jonger dan 5 jaar zeer laag (0,5 per 100.000). Door de indirecte bescherming kwam het bij andere leeftijdsgroepen ook minder vaak voor. In 2015 en de eerste helft van 2016 kwam de bof vaker voor dan in 2014 (bij respectievelijk 89, 45 en 40 mensen). Meldingen van mogelijke bijwerkingen van vaccins In 2015 is het aantal meldingen van mogelijke bijwerkingen van vaccins gestegen (1494 ten opzichte van 982 in 2014). Het betrof vooral meldingen van (heftige) lokale ontstekingsreacties en koorts bij 4-jarigen. Ook nam het aantal meldingen van vermoeidheid bij 12-jarige meisjes toe na media-aandacht over eventuele bijwerkingen van de HPV vaccinatie. De aard van de gemelde bijwerkingen was in vergelijking met voorgaande jaren niet ernstiger. Meldingen van ziekten voor potentiële RVP-vaccins In 2015 en 2016 steeg het aantal gevallen van meningokokkenziekte veroorzaakt door serogroep W (MenW); meestal waren dit personen van 65 jaar of ouder. Na het extreem lage aantal gevallen in 2014 had 2015 een gemiddeld rotavirus seizoen, met de piek in maart. Tot en met juni 2016 was het aantal gevallen van rotavirus weer laag, waarbij het ‘seizoen’ ook later begon dan normaal. (aut. ref.

The National Immunisation Programme in the Netherlands : surveillance and developments in 2017-2018.

In 2017, about 760,000 children aged 0 to 19 years received a total of 2,140,000 vaccinations within the National Immunisation Programme (NIP). Participation in the NIP was high among children under 10 years of age, despite the drop by around 2-3% for most vaccinations since 2014. An exception in the high participation is the number of girls who was vaccinated against human papillomavirus (HPV), which has declined by 15% since 2016. The number of reports (1,383) of possible adverse events following immunisation in 2017 was lower than the number of reports in 2016 (1,483). NIP target diseases There is an ongoing increase in the number of cases with meningococcal serogroup W (MenW) disease with 80 cases reported in 2017 and 78 up to August 2018. Because of this increase, since May 2018, the MenC vaccination given at 14 months of age has been replaced by a quadrivalent MenACWY vaccination. The case fatality of MenW disease (17%) was substantially higher than for other serogroups. In 2017, the number of measles cases was low (16 reported cases) but higher than in the previous two years. The number of pertussis reports in 2017 was comparable with 2016 (28.7 compared with 32.6 per 10,000). Three people died from pertussis, one infant and two elderly. The number of reports of acute hepatitis B infections stayed stable (0.7 per 100,000 population). Also, the incidence of vaccine type invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) remained very low in 2017/2018. Once again, the number of reported cases were in 2017 low for mumps (46), Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib; 46), meningococcal serogroep C (MenC; 9), diphtheria (4), tetanus (1), rubella (0) and polio (0). The inhabitants of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba are predominantly well protected against NIP diseases. However, protection against measles and diphtheria is suboptimal for some age groups. Awareness is needed to prevent these diseases from spreading from neighboring countries, where outbreaks currently are observed. New advice and decisions In July 2018, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports decided to expand the MenACWY vaccination outbreak programme to 13-14 year olds. In 2019, there will be a catch up campaign for all 15-18 year olds. Furthermore, it was decided that vaccination against disease caused by rotavirus will be included in the NIP for risk groups, and that maternal pertussis vaccination in the NIP will be organised by youth health care organisations. The Dutch Health Council advises to offer vaccination against pneumococcal disease to the people 60 years and older. (aut. ref.

The National Immunisation Programme in the Netherlands: surveillance and developments in 2021-2022.

Synopsis The National Immunisation Programme in the Netherlands Surveillance and developments in 2021-2022 RIVM tracks how many people fall ill due to a disease that is included in the National Immunisation Programme (NIP). In 2021, fewer people got such a disease compared to 2020. This is very likely due to COVID-19 control measures such as social distancing and handwashing. There were especially fewer people with invasive pneumococcal disease (about 1,205 people), pertussis (74), and mumps (1). The number of notifications for meningococcal disease caused by serotype W (4) decreased further, after introduction of the vaccine for adolescents into the NIP in 2020. There were no notifications of diphtheria, tetanus, measles, rubella, or polio in 2021. The number of chronic hepatitis B notifications (743) was about the same as in 2020. Between 2014 and 2019 there were many more notifications, with about 1,000 to 1,100 people being made aware they had this disease. The decrease is probably the result of a decrease in doctors’ visits and therefore diagnoses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Only Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) occurred more frequently than before the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020 and 2021 there were 68 notifications per year, compared to 39 in 2019. RIVM currently investigates the cause. The vaccine seems to be as effective as in previous years. In 2021, 1,703,102 children were vaccinated as part of the NIP. They received a total of 2,219,341 vaccinations. Also, 115,886 pregnant women received a vaccination that protects their baby immediately after birth against, amongst others, whooping cough. Vaccination coverage in the Netherlands is slightly lower than last year. This is partly because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused some vaccinations to be given later than normally planned. The Health Council of the Netherlands recommended in June 2021 to offer rotavirus vaccination to young babies. In September 2021, the Health Council recommended inviting more risk groups for flu vaccination, including pregnant women. The ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport adopted both recommendations in 2022. Vaccination against COVID-19 works well to prevent severe illness and death, but the protection slowly decreases. Booster vaccinations increase protection again