Recycled Plastic Packaging in the Netherlands Still Falls Short Only 7 percent of plastic packaging in the Netherlands is reused as material for new packaging. The Dutch government aims to ensure that by 2050, no packaging is made from (new) fossil-based resources.
50th anniversary of the heel prick test: health benefits for hundreds of newborns each year Today marks the 50th anniversary of the introduction of the heel prick test (or newborn blood spot screening) in the Netherlands. This test involves the collection of a few drops of blood from newborn babies and screening the blood for serious...
Fewer whooping cough antibodies if vaccination occurs before 24th week of pregnancy Babies develop fewer antibodies against pertussis (whooping cough) if the mother is given the pertussis vaccine before the 24th week of pregnancy. These findings are from a multi-year study carried out by RIVM among preterm and full-term babies and their mothers.
Expected peak in tick bite season RIVM and Wageningen University researchers expect the tick bite season to reach its peak in the next few weeks. The peak will coincide with the start of the summer holidays.
New COVID-19 vaccination round for risk groups this autumn The new COVID-19 vaccination round will start on 16 September 2024. For people who are at higher risk, the COVID-19 vaccination offers more effective protection against hospital admission or death due to COVID-19.
New Stookwijzer criteria based on nuisance RIVM has reviewed the criteria of the Stookwijzer. Based on these new insights, RIVM recommends that households do not light wood fires in winds of 2 or less on the Beaufort scale. In such circumstances, the Stookwijzer will issue a code red.
RIVM: be cautious when using nutritional supplements containing Mucuna pruriens Herbal preparations that contain Mucuna pruriens seeds are sold online in the Netherlands. RIVM has examined whether these preparations are harmful to health. Very little scientific information about Mucuna pruriens is publicly available.
MEBI: risk of serious health complaints from Rebound HRD® inguinal hernia mesh The Dutch Reporting Centre for Adverse Effects of Medical Implants (MEBI), which is part of RIVM, has received a report about Rebound HRD® (Hernia Repair Device), an inguinal hernia mesh.
Vaccination coverage of babies and toddlers remained about the same, but decreased among older children The percentage of babies and toddlers that were vaccinated in the framework of the National Immunisation Programme remained about the same compared to last year. In children aged 9 years and older, vaccination coverage continued to decrease for most of the national childhood immunisations. iStock
Weather conditions led to better air quality in 2023 The air quality in 2023 was better than in 2022, mainly due to the weather conditions. This is according to the large-scale concentration (GCN) maps RIVM creates each year of air pollution in the Netherlands.