Rutte gets Janssen vaccine as bookings open for 1980s children

Caretaker prime minister Mark Rutte has shared a photograph of his coronavirus vaccination on his Twitter account.

Rutte, 54, dressed down for the occasion, wearing a casual T-shirt, jeans and a baseball cap as he received the single-shot Janssen vaccine.

He revealed during Friday’s press conference, when the government confirmed that step 3 of lifting the coronavirus restrictions will go ahead on June 5, that his appointment was booked for Monday.

‘Vaccination is the way out of this crisis and thanks to the Janssen vaccine this prospect has come a step closer for me personally,’ the prime minister wrote on Twitter.

‘With much thanks to all the staff at the GGD network (@GGDGHORNL) who dedicate themselves every day to helping the Netherlands out of this crisis.’

Vaccineren is de weg uit deze crisis en dat vooruitzicht komt dankzij het vaccin van Janssen nu ook voor mij persoonlijk een stap dichterbij. Met heel veel dank aan alle medewerkers van @GGDGHORNL die zich elke dag inzetten om Nederland uit deze crisis te helpen. pic.twitter.com/uwN7Lk2btU

— Mark Rutte (@MinPres) May 31, 2021

People born in 1979 and 1980 have been able to register for a vaccine appointment online or by telephone since 11.30am on Monday. They will receive letters with their registration details by post later this week.

According to the government’s coronavirus dashboard an estimated 9,231,033 vaccine doses have now been given, with more than a million more due this week.

However, health minister Hugo de Jonge has admitted that his target of offering everyone a first jab by July 1 will probably not be met because of delivery problems with the Janssen vaccine.