The large-scale vaccination against the coronavirus started today in the RAI. Alderman Simone Kukenheim (Care), was present at the vaccination this morning of the first care worker Dickey Heerkens, who works in the recovery department at the Sarphati House. "Despite the difficult time for event venues, we as a local authority could once again count on the RAI. The RAI played an important role in the rapid scaling up of the number of corona tests and now also in facilitating vaccination. In doing so, the RAI has all the facilities to support the GGD coronaproof. I am happy to have such a good cooperation partner for the city", said the alderman.
First of all, 30,000 employees of nursing and care homes in the Amsterdam-Amstelland region will be vaccinated in the coming period. GGD Amsterdam is dependent on the supply of vaccines by the central government. That is why the GGD starts with 300 appointments per day. As of 15 January this will increase to 536 per day. This will increase further as more vaccines are made available.
RAI location fully corona-predicate
The lounges at entrance G meet all the requirements for large-scale vaccination locations. These include working hygienically and the correct disposal of waste. It goes without saying that they are completely corona ready if you look at the required 1.5 metre distance and walking routes. There is always a doctor present to supervise the quality of care and management of the vaccines. The doctor also advises on medical questions and provides aftercare if necessary. All vaccination staff have the required expertise.
BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine
For the time being, care workers are receiving the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine. If other vaccines become available, they can also be used. At Pfizer, this concerns 2 vaccinations with an interval of 3 or 4 weeks. The BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine activates the body's immune system and thus provides protection against the coronavirus. Vaccination can cause side effects such as fever or headache. These usually start soon after the injection and almost always go away on their own within a few days.
Continue
After the care workers of nursing and care institutions, it is the turn of other groups. The central government determines the order of vaccination, as indicated on the RIVM website. The ministry expects that people over 60 living at home will be vaccinated from March onwards. For people between 18 and 60 years of age without medical indication, vaccination will probably start in April or May. Vaccination is voluntary, but makes an important contribution to reducing the coronavirus.
Corona test street
It will be some time before a large part of the population has been vaccinated. RAI Amsterdam has been used as a corona test site since 2 June 2020. To date, almost 400,000 people have been tested in the RAI. GGD has started with a capacity of 250 tests per day and has now scaled up to 3800 tests per day. Since October, the test street in hall 8 has also been used as a corona test location.