Fewer Mexican flu vaccinations in Limburg

This week, the second round of the Mexican flu vaccination programme will expire. Nearly 830 thousand children aged between six months and five years were summoned for H1N1 vaccination (Influenza A). The invitation also applies to 200 thousand members of families with babies younger than six months. This target group is not evenly spread across the Netherlands.

The proportion of children under the age of five in the total population is 6 percent, but in the province of Limburg, the proportion is considerably lower. Nationwide, there are 30 municipalities, where the proportion of young children is very low; 20 are situated in Limburg. This implies that there are relatively few young children in half of municipalities in Limburg.

The rate of children under the age of five is relatively high in communities in the Dutch Bible Belt. In municipalities like Urk, Staphorst, Zwartewaterland and Graafstroom most families are large. Presumably, residents of Bible Belt communities – on religious grounds – will be more reluctant to have their children vaccinated.

Proportion of children under the age of five by municipality

Duncan Beeckman