IC doctor Diederik Gommers on the end of the lockdown: ‘Back to life’

According to IC physician Diederik Gommers, the dramatic decrease in the number of hospitalizations gives a “completely different feeling”. In addition, vaccination is now really moving forward.

“Very excited”

“Of course we knew this was coming, but when you see it actually happening, it makes me so excited,” Gummers said. Watch the entire conversation here:

Gommers expect everyone to be well vaccinated by the end of summer. Then we bring back our ‘new life,’ he said.

Youth readiness for vaccination

According to the IC doctor, it is only interesting how high the willingness to vaccinate among young people. “If we manage to achieve a vaccination rate of 75 percent in the Netherlands, the reproduction number R will still be less than one.” This way, we stay protected against new outbreaks of the virus in the fall and winter.

What does the intensive care doctor think of the following relaxations, which may already begin on June 25? Gummers said that given the rapidly declining number of infections, it’s possible. “The only deceptive thing about our behavior is: If we get a finger, we take the whole hand. We pretend it’s over.”

‘Take my heart’

So we have to stick to the ground rules for some time, Gummers said. “We did it all by working together. It is in the weight of my heart that the virus is gone and we can do normal things again.”