MMR vaccination among young Amsterdam children remains low
Available figures show a prolonged decline in Amsterdam, while the RIVM again reports low uptake nationally.
Vaccination coverage against mumps, measles and rubella remains under pressure. In Amsterdam, the proportion of two-year-olds with basic MMR immunity stood at 82.1 per cent in the most recent municipal series, while the national figure for reporting year 2026 was 87.9 per cent.
The Amsterdam figures come from a municipal series running up to and including reporting year 2024. It shows basic MMR immunity among two-year-olds falling from 92.1 per cent in 2017 to 82.1 per cent in 2024. The decline was not the same every year: between 2023 and 2024, the percentage changed from 82.5 to 82.1 per cent.
In June, the RIVM reported that vaccination coverage among babies and pre-school children nationwide had fallen slightly again. For MMR among two-year-olds, the national figure for reporting year 2026 was 87.9 per cent. The institute warns that since 2022 these percentages have partly been affected by anonymous vaccinations that cannot be fully linked to individual children.
The MMR jab protects against three infectious diseases: mumps, measles and rubella. According to the RIVM, national uptake is below 90 per cent, while around 95 per cent is needed for measles to protect the population sufficiently against outbreaks. This is a population benchmark, not a statement about the protection of an individual child.
Current measles surveillance does not show all the consequences of lower vaccination coverage, but it does show why the trend is being monitored. Up to and including 8 September, the RIVM recorded eight reports of measles in the Netherlands in 2026. Four infections were acquired in the Netherlands and four abroad; the figures may still change as a result of later reports.
Amsterdam is trying to increase uptake through a neighbourhood-based approach and more accessible vaccination appointments. The GGD Amsterdam is organising the autumn round of the National Immunisation Programme between September and November 2026. The GGD also emphasises that parents can reschedule an appointment through the parent portal if the original date is unsuitable.
The figures do not explain why parents miss a jab. Possible explanations may differ by neighbourhood and family, but the public sources do not substantiate any single cause as the dominant explanation. It is clear, however, that Amsterdam has been below the national level of MMR uptake for years and that the available records may provide an incomplete picture because of privacy choices.
One story, several perspectives
What is established
- MMR vaccination coverage among Amsterdam two-year-olds stood at 82.1 per cent in the available series for reporting year 2024.
- National MMR vaccination coverage among two-year-olds stood at 87.9 per cent in reporting year 2026.
- Registration figures have been less complete since 2022 because of anonymous vaccinations.
- The RIVM links measles vaccination coverage of around 95 per cent to protecting the population against outbreaks.
Left
Arguments The priority should be accessibility and trust: bring vaccination closer to families, in familiar neighbourhoods and with room for questions. Coercion or accusatory communication can create greater distance, while public services should actively help remove practical and social barriers.
Values Equal access to healthcare, solidarity and protection of vulnerable children.
Consequences A neighbourhood-based approach requires additional public capacity, but it may increase uptake without placing families further at odds with the government.
Centre
Arguments The institutional approach combines good information, reliable registration and accessible invitations. Measures should be evaluated by neighbourhood, because averages can conceal causes and differences; only then would tighter regulation be appropriate.
Values Proportionality, evidence and feasibility.
Consequences A phased approach may preserve trust, but it may produce an increase less quickly than stricter measures.
Right
Arguments Vaccination protects not only one’s own family but also the community. Parents are responsible for participating in the programme, and the government may set clear standards and act more specifically where persistently low uptake creates risks.
Values Personal responsibility, public order and protection of the majority.
Consequences Stricter conditions or more forceful enforcement may increase uptake, but they may also provoke resistance and damage trust in public healthcare.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The figures for Amsterdam and the Netherlands were checked directly against publications by GGD Amsterdam and the RIVM. The text clearly distinguishes between measured registration figures, population benchmarks and unproven explanations for the decline.
- confirmed Basic MMR immunity among Amsterdam two-year-olds was 82.1 per cent in reporting year 2024. — This percentage appears in the 2017–2024 series published by GGD Amsterdam. source
- confirmed Basic MMR immunity among Amsterdam two-year-olds fell from 92.1 per cent in 2017 to 82.1 per cent in 2024. — Confirmed by the same municipal series. source
- confirmed National MMR vaccination coverage among two-year-olds was 87.9 per cent in reporting year 2026. — Confirmed by the RIVM data as presented by Volksgezondheid en Zorg and in the RIVM report. source
- confirmed Since 2022, anonymous vaccinations cannot be fully linked to individual children. — The RIVM explicitly describes this limitation in its explanation of vaccination coverage. source
- confirmed Up to and including 8 September, the RIVM recorded eight reports of measles in the Netherlands in 2026, of which four infections were acquired in the Netherlands and four abroad. — Confirmed on the RIVM’s current measles page. source
- confirmed According to the RIVM, measles vaccination coverage of around 95 per cent is needed to protect the population against outbreaks. — This population benchmark is mentioned in the RIVM’s explanation of vaccination coverage. source
Editor's note
The Amsterdam series with figures for two-year-olds is publicly available up to and including reporting year 2024; the RIVM figure for the Netherlands concerns reporting year 2026. Since 2022, the records have involved under-reporting because of anonymous vaccinations, and the public sources provide no proven primary cause for the decline.Sources
- Vaccinatiegraad bij baby’s en kleuters licht gedaald, bij tieners gestegen — RIVM
- Actualiteiten over mazelen — RIVM
- Vaccinatiegraden Amsterdam G4 en landelijk 2024 — GGD Amsterdam
- Vaccinaties — GGD Amsterdam
- Vaccinatiegraad verhogen: laagdrempeligheid en vertrouwen spelen sleutelrol — GGD GHOR Nederland
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