<p> A Dutch nurse on Wednesday became the first person in the Netherlands to receive a COVID-19 shot as the European Union's last vaccination programme for the new coronavirus began after a late start.</p>.<p>Sanna Elkadiri, a 39-year-old who cares for dementia patients at a care home in the south of the country, received a shot of the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech on live television.</p>.<p>"This is the beginning of the end of this crisis," said Health Minister Hugo de Jonge at a brief ceremony.</p>.<p>Elkadiri said she didn't hesitate after being offered the chance to get the shot, travelling to a converted distribution centre capable of conducting hundreds of vaccinations per week.</p>.<p>Public anger swelled over the weekend and opinion polls showed support for the government waning after it became apparent the Netherlands was last among major European countries to begin vaccinations.</p>.<p>In a debate in parliament on Tuesday, Prime Minister Mark Rutte defended the slow roll out.</p>.<p>"The main problem was that we got it sooner than we had expected," Rutte said, referring to regulatory approval for a vaccine. "It was a different vaccine (than we had expected)...making it impossible to be flexible."</p>.<p>The Dutch government thought the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine would be approved first, though Rutte did not explain why. Moderna's vaccine is expected to become the second COVID-19 vaccine endorsed by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) later on Wednesday.</p>.<p>After a review, the Dutch government and National Institute for Health (RIVM) dropped plans to vaccinate elderly people in care homes first. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will go initially to nursing home staff and healthcare workers. That list will expand as more vaccines become available.</p>.<p>Coronavirus infections in the Netherlands have remained high in recent weeks, despite a tough lockdown in which all schools and most stores remain closed.</p>
<p> A Dutch nurse on Wednesday became the first person in the Netherlands to receive a COVID-19 shot as the European Union's last vaccination programme for the new coronavirus began after a late start.</p>.<p>Sanna Elkadiri, a 39-year-old who cares for dementia patients at a care home in the south of the country, received a shot of the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech on live television.</p>.<p>"This is the beginning of the end of this crisis," said Health Minister Hugo de Jonge at a brief ceremony.</p>.<p>Elkadiri said she didn't hesitate after being offered the chance to get the shot, travelling to a converted distribution centre capable of conducting hundreds of vaccinations per week.</p>.<p>Public anger swelled over the weekend and opinion polls showed support for the government waning after it became apparent the Netherlands was last among major European countries to begin vaccinations.</p>.<p>In a debate in parliament on Tuesday, Prime Minister Mark Rutte defended the slow roll out.</p>.<p>"The main problem was that we got it sooner than we had expected," Rutte said, referring to regulatory approval for a vaccine. "It was a different vaccine (than we had expected)...making it impossible to be flexible."</p>.<p>The Dutch government thought the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine would be approved first, though Rutte did not explain why. Moderna's vaccine is expected to become the second COVID-19 vaccine endorsed by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) later on Wednesday.</p>.<p>After a review, the Dutch government and National Institute for Health (RIVM) dropped plans to vaccinate elderly people in care homes first. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will go initially to nursing home staff and healthcare workers. That list will expand as more vaccines become available.</p>.<p>Coronavirus infections in the Netherlands have remained high in recent weeks, despite a tough lockdown in which all schools and most stores remain closed.</p>