People aged over 90 who are living at home will be vaccinated against coronavirus from Monday in the latest stage of the Dutch immunisation programme.

Health minister Hugo de Jonge revised the schedule last week to extend the period between the two vaccinations from three weeks to six, so that people over 85 can receive their first jab sooner.

Care home residents began being immunised last week, while people aged 85 to 90 living independently will join the queue in the first week of February.

Local health boards estimate there are around 90,000 people over 90 living at home in the Netherlands, of whom half are mobile enough to leave the house for the vaccine. The group of independent over-85s comprises around 220,000 people.

The Netherlands has been criticised for late start and slow vaccination schedule relative to other countries. So far 0.79% of the population have received the first vaccination, compared to a European Union average of 1.9%. Out of the 27 nations only Bulgaria, with 0.38%, has immunised fewer.