A majority of MPs want far-right health minister Fleur Agema to do a u-turn and send Mpox vaccines to Africa, as called for by the World Health Organisation and the EU, Nieuwsuur reported on Sunday.

Agema confirmed last week that she would not send any of the Netherlands’ 100,000 Mpox vaccine doses to Africa, even though some will expire next year, because she wanted the Netherlands to be ready in case the virus arrived here.

The Dutch health institute RIVM, however, has advised the minister to donate some of the vaccines to combat a new variant of the virus, which is now spreading in Congo, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.

In total, 13,200 of the Dutch stockpiled vaccines will expire in a year.

Experts say the minister’s position does not make sense. “Saying you want a stockpile of 100,000 vaccines is not an argument,” said microbiologist and former RIVM official  Roel Couthinho. “The more vaccines in central Africa, the more you help these countries stop the spread.”

Nieuwsuur questioned MPs to assess support for the minister’s position and found that coalition partner NSC, which has 20 MPs, supports sending vaccines, along with almost all the opposition.

NSC parliamentarian Daniëlle Jansen has called for an emergency debate with the minister in an effort to convince her to make the donation “as soon as possible”.
A number of EU countries have already made donations.