The European medicines agency EMA approved the Moderna vaccine, of which the Netherlands has ordered six million, on Wednesday. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health Hugo De Jonge expects to receive 400.000 doses of the Moderna vaccine in stages between now and the end of March, of which about 32.000 are expected to arrive this month. After the vaccine from BioNTech / Pfizer, it is the second vaccine that can be used against the corona virus in Europe. Boost for Hugo de Jonge who was able to bring good news this week after he came under heavy fire from the House of Representatives. You just have to be on it. Everyone quickly has an opinion about what could be improved, but ignores everything that went well. In addition, the Netherlands is a country of negotiation and it is not an easy task for the Minister of Health to do justice to everything and everyone. MPs such as Groenlinks party leader Jesse Klaver think they know better and would have done things differently with today's wisdom.
You have to stay Siberian, but sometimes you have to judge things well and perhaps make other decisions.
Let the cabinet do its work during this phase. That is exactly what most readers say. To call the Netherlands the 'village idiot of Europe' in the words of Geert Wilders is going too far, but this tone naturally fits in with the electoral politics that we have to listen to in the coming months. De Jonge works around the clock for seven days and does his best for everyone. Regardless of party political programs, you have to value politicians for performance. This minister is trying to do well and I have every confidence in that. Within the coalition, Minister Hugo de Jonge still enjoys sufficient support, outside of that there are aloud doubts about his ability. Politicians such as Lodewijk Asscher (PvdA) and Lilian Marijnissen (SP), among others, are not going to help our country any better in this pandemic. Let that be clear!
Moderna vs Pfizer
All vaccines must all be transported in different ways. One vaccine must be cooled to -70 degrees Celsius, the other at a higher temperature. Hugo de Jonge indicated to Jinek, during last Wednesday's broadcast, that transport is well organized. A vaccine that has to be transported at -70 degrees Celsius is quite a challenge in a Western country. The big advantage of the Moderna vaccine is logistics. Much easier with transport. Moreover, it can therefore also be provided on a smaller scale. No need for large-scale vaccination centers.
Also read: Vaccination in the Netherlands has finally started
