Diertens asks about islands’ vaccination

Member of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament An­tje Diertens of the Demo­cratic Party D66 wants to know how and when people in the Dutch Caribbean will be vaccinated against the coronavirus.

The Member of Parlia­ment (MP) on Monday submitted written ques­tions to State Secretary of Public Health, Welfare and Sport Paul Blokhuis and State Secretary Home Affairs and Kingdom Ray­mond Knops in response to an article that appeared in the Amigoe newspaper on December 16 about the insecurity over the vaccina­tion date on the islands.

“Can you indicate what the preparations are of the different scenarios for vac­cinating in Bonaire, St. Eu­statius and Saba and in the countries Aruba, Curacao and St. Maarten, and pro­vide details on the logistics, the necessary infrastruc­ture, personnel, tolling equipment and communi­cation?”

Diertens enquired wheth­er there was already a vac­cination plan in place for the Dutch Caribbean and when the Second Chamber would receive this. “How many vaccinations do you expect to have available for the Dutch Caribbean, and when do you plan to start vaccinating?”

The MP sought a reac­tion of the state secretar­ies about the advice of the Dutch Health Council about the prioritising in vaccinating whereby the elderly, vulnerable groups and health care workers would be inoculated first.

Diertens also wanted to know how much person­nel was needed and avail­able for vaccination on the islands. Lastly, she asked about the vaccination of undocumented persons on the islands. “How will you ensure that non-registered persons, who make up 15 per cent of the population, will be vaccinated?”

The Daily Herald.