{"id":7270,"date":"2021-04-21T13:30:14","date_gmt":"2021-04-21T13:30:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/?p=7270"},"modified":"2021-04-21T13:30:14","modified_gmt":"2021-04-21T13:30:14","slug":"the-controversy-over-the-dutch-health-council-gezondheidsraad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/the-controversy-over-the-dutch-health-council-gezondheidsraad\/","title":{"rendered":"The Controversy Over The Dutch Health Council"},"content":{"rendered":"

Normally, you don’t hear much about it, yet it directly influences the\u00a0beleid\u00a0<\/em>(policy) of the Dutch government. These past weeks, it made headlines, however, as it made some controversial advies\u00a0<\/em>(advice). I’m talking about the Gezondheidsraad\u00a0<\/em>(health council). Let’s talk about that council. How did it come to be, who’s part of it, and what is its influence and role?<\/p>\n

What is the\u00a0Gezondheidsraad<\/em>?<\/strong><\/h1>\n
\"Gezondheidsraad<\/a>

Photo by Scott Graham<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

The\u00a0Gezondheidsraad <\/em>begins its story in 1902. Following the 1901 Gezondheidswet<\/em>, the first Dutch health law, this new council was to lead inspecties <\/em>(inspections) on the volksgezondheid <\/em>(public health). It was made up of the\u00a0hoofdinspecteurs\u00a0<\/em>(head inspectors) and some\u00a0gezondheids<\/em>deskundigen\u00a0<\/em>(health experts). Besides this task, it was also asked to give advice to the\u00a0regering\u00a0<\/em>(government).<\/p>\n

However, this double task did not work for the\u00a0raad\u00a0<\/em>(council). While\u00a0advies geven\u00a0<\/em>(to give advice) went well, the\u00a0supervision didn’t work. This is why the second Gezondheidswet <\/em>(Health Law) of 1919 turned the\u00a0Gezondheidsraad\u00a0<\/em>into a purely advisory organ. Its members became exclusively\u00a0wetenschappers\u00a0<\/em>(scientists) and\u00a0vertegenwoordigers\u00a0<\/em>(representatives) of societal and vocational organisations.<\/p>\n

Over the years, the\u00a0Gezondheidsraad\u00a0<\/em>turned more and more towards scientific advice. The\u00a0vertegenwoordigers\u00a0<\/em>became less important, and it now is a purely scientific, independent advisory council.<\/p>\n

As its name suggests, the advice is about\u00a0gezondheid\u00a0<\/em>(health). But it also includes\u00a0voedselveiligheid\u00a0<\/em>(food safety),\u00a0milieu\u00a0<\/em>(environment) and\u00a0hygi\u00ebne<\/em> (hygiene).<\/p>\n

These days, the\u00a0Gezondheidsraad\u00a0<\/em>is composed of about 130\u00a0deskundigen<\/em>. When a minister<\/a> or the parliament<\/a> has an\u00a0adviesvraag\u00a0<\/em>(request for advice), the council assembles a\u00a0commissie\u00a0<\/em>(committee) to discuss the question with deskundigen\u00a0<\/em>from the field, as well as council members. After several rounds of internal approval, the advice is given to the parliament or minister. About thirty of such\u00a0commissies\u00a0<\/em>are in operation at any time!<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Gezondheidsraad\u00a0<\/em>also gives\u00a0advies\u00a0<\/em>when it’s not asked to do so, on its own accord. Sometimes, that advice is followed up with an\u00a0adviesvraag\u00a0<\/em>for further information, so that policy can be made around it.<\/p>\n

And most of the time, this\u00a0advies\u00a0<\/em>is followed, too! So you can imagine that the\u00a0Gezondheidsraad\u00a0<\/em>is quite influental.<\/p>\n

Since 2011, there is also\u00a0JongGR<\/em><\/a>, a young\u00a0Gezondheidsraad<\/em>. This is a community of younger researchers that discuss\u00a0innovatie\u00a0<\/em>(innovation) in\u00a0volksgezondheidsbeleid\u00a0<\/em>(public health policy). They’re most active on social media.<\/p>\n

Controversial Advies <\/i>on the AstraZeneca Vaccine<\/strong><\/h1>\n
\"Gezondheidsraad<\/a>

Photo by Hakan Nural<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Usually, the advice from the\u00a0Gezondheidsraad\u00a0<\/em>stays under the radar and is highly regarded. So they’re not usually in the news. These past few weeks were different, however. They made some controversial\u00a0advies\u00a0<\/em>about the AstraZeneca vaccine.<\/p>\n

There was real woede <\/em>(anger) over this advies<\/em>. “Hiermee ondermijn je vertrouwen in vaccins”\u00a0<\/em>(With this, you undermine trust in vaccines), said one\u00a0wetenschapper<\/em><\/a>. So what did the Raad <\/em>do?<\/p>\n

The AstraZeneca vaccin\u00a0<\/em>(vaccine) has been a bit confusing. First, it was only for those below 65, then for everybody, and then there were problems with some young people that were given the vaccine. The question was whether the\u00a0vaccin\u00a0<\/em>should no longer be used for so-called zestigminners <\/em>(sixty-minus, people below 60) until more information is available or to continue, as the benefits heavily outweigh the downsides.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Gezondheidsraad\u00a0<\/em>gave the advice that the vaccin\u00a0<\/em>should be suspended for\u00a0zestigminners<\/em> for the time being, and they should be given a different vaccin<\/em>. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) decided that the upsides substantially outweighed the downsides, and prikken\u00a0<\/em>(to inject) should continue for all groups. So the advice of the\u00a0Gezondheidsraad\u00a0<\/em>goes against the\u00a0advies\u00a0<\/em>that its colleagues give. The\u00a0ministerie van Volksgezondheid, Welzijn en Sport <\/em>(Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport) adopted this advice in their\u00a0beleid<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Frits Rosendaal, a professor in clinical epidemiology from Leiden, said in Het Parool<\/em><\/a>:\u00a0\u201cOok alle trombose-experts, in Nederland en daarbuiten, raden aan het vaccineren te hervatten. Er liggen bij ons in Leiden veel vijftigers op de intensive cares. Als je die leeftijdsgroep vaccins ontzegt terwijl je ze in voorraad hebt, weet je dat dat levens kan kosten doordat ze Covid-19 krijgen.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>(Also all thrombosis experts, both in the Netherlands and abroad, recommend resuming vaccination. There are many people in their fifties in the ICUs here with us in Leiden. If you deny that age group vaccines while you have them in stock, you know it can cost lives if they get Covid-19.)<\/p>\n

A few days later, the Gezondheidsraad\u00a0<\/em>walked this\u00a0advies\u00a0<\/em>back slightly, saying that if you are a\u00a0zestigminner\u00a0<\/em>and want to get AstraZeneca anyway,\u00a0je de keuze zelf zou moeten kunnen maken\u00a0<\/em>(you should be able to make that choice yourself). However, they repeated that this was not a change of the\u00a0advies\u00a0<\/em>they had given before.<\/p>\n

Some\u00a0huisartsen\u00a0<\/em>(general practitioners) simply continued<\/a> with prikken\u00a0<\/em>of AstraZeneca for\u00a0zestigminners\u00a0<\/em>if they wanted it.<\/p>\n

Listen here to the podcast\u00a0De Dag<\/em>, a daily Dutch podcast by NPO Radio 1 on specific news topics. This episode is on de invloed van de Gezondheidsraad <\/em>(the influence of the Health Council)<\/a> and takes about 21 minutes.<\/p>\nhttps:\/\/podcast.npo.nl\/file\/de-dag\/53049\/de-invloed-van-de-gezondheidsraad-op-de-vaccinatiecampagne.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

What do you think about all this? Let me know in the comments below!<\/strong><\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"Gezondheidsraad

Normally, you don’t hear much about it, yet it directly influences the\u00a0beleid\u00a0(policy) of the Dutch government. These past weeks, it made headlines, however, as it made some controversial advies\u00a0(advice). I’m talking about the Gezondheidsraad\u00a0(health council). Let’s talk about that council. How did it come to be, who’s part of it, and what is its influence…<\/p>\n

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