Six million flu-jab invitations from October: the 60 rule counts to 1 May next year, not today

In October and November about six million people in the Netherlands receive a letter from their GP carrying a date and a time: come then for a free flu jab. Nobody signs up for that letter. It goes to a list, and who is on the list is decided by the health ministry on the advice of the Gezondheidsraad. One line on that list is the one people most often rule themselves out of: 60 and over, where 60 is not measured by whether you are 60 today but by whether you turn 60 before 1 May of next year. Check your own birthday against that rule first, because a good many 59-year-olds are already on the list.

• The free groups include people aged 60 and over, counting anyone who turns 60 before 1 May of the following year, plus lung disease, heart function problems, type 1 and type 2 diabetes, kidney disease, lowered immunity, neurological and neuromuscular disease, a BMI of 40 or more, dementia, a cochlear implant, an intellectual disability, people aged 6 months to 18 on long-term salicylates, and everyone living in a nursing home. (source 1)
• Women who are 22 weeks pregnant or more between 15 October and 1 March may also have the jab, at the consultatiebureau. (source 2)
• Anyone under 60 with no medical indication can arrange the jab with their GP and pay for it themselves; the official page states that the pharmacy or vaccination centre knows the price. (source 1)
• The jab cuts the chance of catching flu by about 40 percent and the chance of hospital admission by more than 40 percent; around 4,000 people a year die of flu in the Netherlands, and recovery usually takes one to three weeks. (source 3)

The second sum belongs to the people not on the list, and to self-employed readers above all. The RIVM says recovery usually takes one to three weeks. Multiply that range by your own day rate: at 300 euro a day, one week is 1,500 euro and three weeks is 4,500, and no employer is paying that. Set the pharmacy's quoted price for a self-paid jab beside those two numbers and the answer rarely takes long. Note that the official page does not publish the price, only that your pharmacy or vaccination centre knows it, so this step is a phone call rather than a web page.

The third point is for people already on the list: the date and time on the letter are arranged. Practices roster extra staff for that day and sometimes hire a hall for it. If it does not suit, make another appointment with the doctor, and if the letter is lost, ask the practice for a new one, but do not treat a missed slot as the end of it. Two things travel alongside: anyone over 70 in the eligible group can also have the corona jab this season, and people born in 1966, who turn 60 this year, or between 1948 and 1952, now 74 to 78, receive a separate invitation for the pneumococcal jab. Three letters, not one; answering only one leaves the others open.

Where

A location arranged by your GP or institutional doctor; pregnant women at the consultatiebureau

When

Invitations go out in October and November to around six million people

Price

Free for the listed groups; anyone outside them pays, at a price quoted by the pharmacy or vaccination centre

Ages

60 and over, counting anyone who turns 60 before 1 May of next year, plus a list of conditions and a pregnancy window

Booking

The letter already carries a date and time; ask for another appointment if it does not suit

Note

The corona and pneumococcal jabs come as separate invitations, so answering one does not cover the others

Hokimi field note: the RIVM publishes an English version of the same page. If someone in the house cannot read the Dutch letter, open the English page alongside it first and then decide whether the practice needs a phone call.