Holland

Vaccination policies

In Holland, no vaccine is mandatory, yet they are strongly recommended.

Although participation is not mandatory, over 92% of parents agree to have their children vaccinated. It is estimated that 80% of the population is unaware that vaccines are a choice and not mandatory.

In June 2018, data from the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) showed that 90,2% of 2-year-olds in the Netherlands were fully vaccinated last year. An exception in the high participation is the number of girls who have been vaccinated against human papillomavirus (HPV) 45,5%, which has decreased by 15% since 2016.

School

In the Netherlands, unvaccinated children can attend any kindergarten or primary school.

Nurseries cannot refuse children who are not (fully) vaccinated. However, D66 (a social-liberal party) has presented a bill proposing to leave nursery schools the choice of whether or not to refuse children who do not participate (fully) in the National Vaccine Program. In the Chamber of Deputies the majority is in favor of the bill.

homeschooling

Homeschooling is not explicitly recognized by Dutch law. At the local level, Municipal Executive Councils control whether pupils subject to compulsory education attend schools in their municipalities and have primary responsibility for the implementation of this law, both for public and non-governmental education. The law requires each municipality to have at least one person responsible for compulsory education. Compulsory attendance ranges from 5 to 16 years of age, with the possibility of part-time attendance from 16 to 18 years of age in the case of an approved combination of study and work.

Parents who refuse their children formal school education are liable to punishment. The law on compulsory education establishes that school attendance is compulsory. However, many manage to obtain a religious exemption from compulsory education. In this sense, the Netherlands - together with the German Länder - deviates from most other European countries where homeschooling is recognized as a regular means of organizing education.

For more information visit the websiteHSLDA.

Vaccination schedule

For more information visit the websiteEcdc.

Recognition and compensation for vaccine injuries

There are several online reports of adverse events following vaccination in the Netherlands at http://www.rivm.nl, but apparently THERE IS NO PUBLIC/ONLINE SYSTEM.

Adverse reactions can be reported to the public system; the Dutch Pharmacovigilance Center Lareb https://www.lareb.nl/.

Local organizations pro-freedom of choice in the therapeutic field