Adverse reactions to vaccinations in the national immunization programme 2002-2003

Hundreds of thousands of children are vaccinated every year against such diseases as whooping cough and measles as part of the National Vaccination Programme (RVP). Although in most cases no adverse events occur, vaccination does sometimes give rise to health problems. In order to determine precisely which problems are a result of vaccination, we have in the Netherlands a comprehensive, graduated system for recording and evaluating the reports that are submitted about these problems.