News

For the American readers among us, Janssen is the J&J vaccination. The Netherlands has one of three factories in the world producing the vaccine. The name of the Dutch company producing it is Janssen, hence why it has a different name here in Europe. The distribution of the Janssen vaccine in the Netherlands (and Europe) isn’t that high, though. Here in the Netherlands we have received about 250,000 Janssen shots compared to 10 million Pfizer shots.

A month or two ago the Dutch government decided that due to the extremely rare risk of blood clots the vaccine would not be given to anyone under the age of 60. However, more recently the government decided to allow everyone 18 and older the choice to book a Janssen vaccine appointment, from today. There are 200,000 vaccines available. There are some advantages, especially for those who want to travel over the summer. You only need one shot and you can generally get a Janssen appointment much faster than two appointments for Pfizer or Moderna. Some lucky souls were able to book a Janssen appointment from this Friday. Otherwise that age group was looking at getting their second vaccine appointment in mid-August.

The government also makes it easy to switch your appointments. Everyone was encouraged to book mRNA vaccine (Pfizer/Moderna) appointments even if there was a chance you might want Janssen instead. Provided you haven’t received your first shot yet you are allowed to call and switch your appointment to Janssen, no questions asked. It has always been easy to switch your appointments here in the Netherlands, though it gets a bit more complicated if you want two different locations or you are re-booking your second appointment when you got Moderna during your first appointment since Moderna is much rarer here.

The thing is, the government announced a few weeks ago that anyone over the age of 18 would be able to book an Janssen appointment this week but that there would only be 200,000 doses available. A few days ago they announced that you could call from today, however the phone number to call wasn’t released until this morning. The government had 3,500 workers on standby to take calls.

…you can imagine the chaos, yes?

The Guardian reported that some Dutch vaccination centers are offering free pickled herring as an incentive to get the vaccine. June 15 is usually Vlaggetjesdag (Dutch Wikipedia), translated as “little flag day” because fishing ships would be decorated with flags on the Saturday before Pentecost. It is the day that the season’s first barrel of herring is auctioned off for a good cause and the day that herring starts appearing in supermarkets. Last year the first barrel was given to medical workers and this year the first barrel was given to the GGD health service; GGD is responsible for Covid-19 vaccinations in the Netherlands.

If you were lucky enough to be around IJmuiden you could also receive free herring after your vaccination (article from Haarlems Dagblad, but it’s behind a paywall).

In case you are wondering: I would politely decline if I was offered any. But for some Dutchies the first herring of the year can be a big thing.

First off: while the government has not officially announced it, the requirement to wear a face mask and the strong advice to work at home will probably disappear from 26 June. Two exceptions: you still need to wear a face mask in public transportation (but probably not supermarkets). You can also only go back to work if your office can guarantee that you are keeping the 1.5 meters rule (5 feet).

Dutch article from nos.nl: Mondkapjes af en niet langer thuiswerken mits 1,5 meter afstand per 26 juni

English article from dutchnews.nl: Have face masks had their day? They are up for discussion, minister confirms

My thought? It feels a bit rushed, on both counts. I’ve gotten used to wearing face masks (at least inside or on my way to somewhere inside). Working from the office? I’m not sure about that either. Previously my office said not before 1 September. But either way, they said people could work from home if they wanted through December, at which time the policy would be reviewed again.

In even bigger news: I got my first vaccination today (Pfizer)! I definitely felt the shot right away; it pinched a bit but nothing bad. My arm has been getting more sore throughout the day but it hasn’t affected typing or anything like that. I also have a bit of a headache, but as that started before the shot I’m not sure if it is related or not.

It looks like better weather will be coming later this week, although of course the best weather falls on Monday and Tuesday next week (24C or 75F). Still, bring it on! It will be nice to be outside again without a jacket on, and feel the sun’s warmth on my skin.

The Hague’s police department held another “turn in your weapons” action in the last week. This one was under the hashtag #dropit. They received more than 650 weapons, including 30 firearms. Th firearms were picked up at home by plain clothed officers in unmarked cars. The rest could be brought to the police station Check out the photo (there are more in the linked article):

What struck me with the photos–especially in the linked article–was how structured the weapons are placed on the table. Someone with a design-forward mind was definitely thinking about how to place the weapons to make the best photographs. My second thought was just how many weapons that actually is! Every corner of that table is covered, plus more weapons on the ground. The police also said they were happy with the action even though they were not expecting to get so many.

In other news: Digitisation project answers questions about Dutch colonial trade in minutes from dutchnews.nl. The project will digitize 25 million handwritten documents from the business administration of the Dutch East Indies company. This will allow researchers to search the documents within minutes. The only problem, of course, is that the handwritten documents are from the 17th and 18th centuries, which means the search results will also be in 17th/18th century Dutch and will thus need to be translated.

Some good news: anyone with a birth year of 1969 or 1970 can make an appointment for a corona vaccine. It is looking better in the Netherlands. However we are still in the top 5 for number of cases in Europe, so as always – patience is required. See also: Dutch Covid hospitalizations 53% below peak; ICU total near 10-week low from nltimes.nl in English.

It is a short week for me, though. I am taking Friday off because next Monday is a holiday (Pentecost). Did you know it is the last holiday of the year here in the Netherlands? Christmas and New Year’s fall in the weekend this year, unfortunately. But I digress…

The biggest news of the day is that the Netherlands will proceed with the lockdown easing this week, from Wednesday (nltimes.nl). Time for me to get a list ready of books I want to check out from the library… The library has posted a list of what people will be able to do (and not do) once they open later this week; the link is in Dutch. The list is as expected, except that they are also offering the option of studying in the library with a reservation system. You need to have a reservation to sit anywhere. The café in the central library will be open for coffee to go as well.

Vaccination against Covid-19 is going faster every day. Yesterday appointments were opened for anyone born 1963 or 1964. Today they are now allowing anyone born in 1965. We still have a ways to go, but it’s nice to see things speeding up.

Today’s photo of the day: What do you do if you are throwing away used paper and your watch accidentally falls in the underground container as well? You hope the fire department has a bit of time to help. Luckily for this woman, they did.

It’s an unexpected photo, to see someone in such a tight space. And I do need to ask: why do I see what looks like egg in his hair if he is in the paper container? I hope he was able to take a very good shower after this assignment.

He did manage to find the watch – you can see it in his hand.