Chasing Herd Immunity in the Netherlands

Just over a year ago I wrote a post about herd immunity in the Netherlands, relating to Covid-19. Back then my opinion was that herd immunity was not the number one goal of the Dutch government’s Covid-19 strategy. Herd immunity in the Netherlands would be a by-product of maximum containment. I was wrong. I foolishly believed the Dutch PM when he stated that ‘groepsimmuniteit‘ wasn’t the primary goal.

The Latest Exhibit: Grapperhaus

It’s not difficult to change your mind about something when you are hit over the head with overwhelming evidence. There’s a been a lot of it over the past six months.

And there’s this latest piece of evidence, this time from Grapperhaus, Minister of Justice and Security. He recently gave an interview boasting about the level of herd immunity the Netherlands has reached, compared to other countries. The video below (thanks to Jaap Stronks) has been subtitled, which is great for those of you whose Dutch is work in progress.

Mishandling of the Corona Crisis

Anyone who has had to sit through the corona crisis in the Netherlands since March 2020, will be aware that it’s not going particularly well.

We are currently in another wave, which we are yet to see the peak of. In the past seven days, the number of infections rose by over 10%. So certainly not stagnating just yet.

On top of that, the vaccination strategy is a long cry from being effective and efficient. The strategy is not reassuring for anyone who actually wouldn’t mind receiving a vaccination this year.

The Dutch government tells us on a weekly basis that the cafe terraces closure and the curfew may be lifted next week. And then they remember that IC units across the country are reaching maximum occupancy and health workers are struggling to cope. So they change their mind. But they promise to sow the seeds of confusion and frustration all over again in a week’s time. This week it looks like they are going to loosen measures. Refer to the second paragraph in this section. And now hit your head repeatedly against a wall.

One thing unites us, no matter where you stand on the corona strategy of the government, from covid deniers to those calling for a zero covid policy: the communication strategy of the outgoing government is a shambles when it comes to the corona crisis.

And then we have Field Lab events.

Field Lab Events

The Dutch government has nearly a billion euros burning a whole in their pocket to fight this pandemic. So obviously they have used the money to step up their vaccination game. So obviously they have earmarked the money for the healthcare system. That money is obviously being used to help those who are currently trying to stay afloat because their businesses have been shut for months. So obviously that money is being used to finance a series of commercial entertainment events. Two of the events is for 10,000 attendees.

The story behind these Field Lab events is that they are experiments to see how the government can safely open society back up without the Covid-19 virus taking control. Audiences at the Eurovision Song Festival is an example of one such event.

538 King’s Day Event

Another of those events is due to take place this Saturday in Breda. 10,000 tickets have been sold for a music event. It will take place less than half a kilometre from the hospital there. Hospital staff express dismay and anger. There’s a petition here, set up last Saturday and signed by 362,000 people at the time of writing this post. The gist of the grievance is this:

Wij
Verontruste zorgverleners, patiënten op de steeds langer wordende wachtlijst, hun naasten en anderen

constateren
Dat het vieren van een feest met 10.000 man op 400 meter van een door Covid overbelast ziekenhuis een slag in het gezicht is van patiënten en zorgverleners

en verzoeken
Dit ondoordachte pseudo-experiment te cancellen.

Met 538 de zorg geminacht – Petition

Breda’s mayor sees no reason to acknowledge the petition, nor take any notice of the unrest in society in general about this ‘experiment’. Nor does the Dutch government.

Superspreader Event or an Essential Experiment?

Attendees must provide a negative covid test to get in to the event. Their behaviour is then monitored. And they go home. However, as far as I can make out there is no obligation to take a test following the event to ensure there is no spread of the virus. Field Lab states that is not part of their remit.

The events are purely to monitor human behaviour and not track the virus. So the question remains how these events contribute to collating data about how to safely open up society if the consequences of holding these events are not analysed.

But I’m no scientist.

For Comparison

Whilst these ‘experiments’ are taking place across the country, using an exorbitant amount of tax payers’ money, what is real life like for most people?

My 14 year old is in school once or twice a week. The rest of his lessons are still online, and have been since mid December 2020.

My husband hasn’t seen his dad in a care home for more months than I can count.

I haven’t seen my family in England since either 2019 or January 2020.

I have just finished a six month bout of physiotherapy to help with long-covid. My nine year old has recently stopped using an inhaler after a year using it, having had Covid-19.

And I know we are the lucky ones.

So many people are sacrificing so much to protect the health of vulnerable members of society or themselves. Business owners, health workers, school teachers and staff, shop workers, to name but a few groups.

Which is why so many people have not taken well to news of a party for 10,000 people at the moment.

Ideas for Field Lab Events

I thought why not contribute to this wonderful experimental world with my own ideas, off the top of my head.

How about a Field Lab event gathering 10,000 people, staggered across a day, in each city in massive sports halls and culture venues and giving them all a jab. Oh, I don’t know, just going to randomly shout out something here, maybe a Covid-19 vaccination.

Or a Field Lab event involving school children to see if we can get them safely back in school for FIVE DAYS A WEEK, instead of just one or two.

And this is a crazy idea, but hear me out. Let’s organise a Field Lab event with university students to see if they can safely attend lectures in person and meet fellow students and teachers on their courses IN REAL LIFE.

Herd Immunity in the Netherlands

So that’s where we are at the moment with herd immunity in the Netherlands. It certainly seems to be a thing. The issues with the Dutch approach of chasing herd immunity are multiple: long-covid, negative economic impact, mutations of the virus, to name a few. Oh, and the herd immunity policy is starting to piss an awful lot of people off……..