Online transmission – fewer colds

The Hague – In 2021, 30 per cent of Dutch people reported having had a cold, sore throat, flu or a sinus infection in the past two months. This is lower than in the previous measurement in 2018, when 41 percent indicated so. There was a decrease in almost all age groups. These complaints occur equally often in children up to 4 years of age and in parents of children up to 12 years old. Fewer other acute complaints were reported in 2021, such as acute bronchitis or pneumonia, ear infections, diarrhea and vomiting. This is reported by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) based on the 2021 Health Survey.

In 2021, fewer people reported having had acute bronchitis or pneumonia in the past two months: 1 percent, compared to 2 percent in 2018. Fewer people also said they had an ear infection, vomit or diarrhea.

Corona Virus

The Netherlands was still affected by the Corona epidemic in 2021. The decrease in the proportion of people with colds, influenza, acute bronchitis or pneumonia, ear infections, vomiting and diarrhea is likely related to measures taken against the spread of the Corona virus. [1]† The health survey did not ask if people had contracted corona in the past two months, only whether they had contracted corona.

At least young children with flu and cold

Colds and flu were more common among children up to age 4 in 2021: 66% of them had such complaints within the past two months, according to their parent or guardian. This is the only age group in which the percentage of these complaints was the same in 2018, and was lower in all other age groups. Among those over 65, this halved, from 28 percent in 2018 to 14 percent in 2021.

Half of all parents of young children have a cold or the flu

In 2021, 49 percent of parents with children younger than 4 reported having had a cold, sore throat, flu, or sinusitis in the past two months. This was about the same as in 2018. Parents with children ages 4 to 12 who live at home also reported complaints of flu and cold more often (38 percent), and also more often three years earlier.

Among parents with children aged 12-18 and children aged 18 or older, and among those without children living at home, these complaints were less common than in 2018.