Hans Cohen

Hans Herman Cohen (3 February 1923 – 14 May 2020) was a Dutch microbiologist. He was director-general of the Netherlands National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) between 1984 and 1986. As a microbiologist Cohen worked on development of polio vaccines in the Netherlands.

Early life and education

Cohen was born in Groningen on 3 February 1923.[1] He was born to a non-religious Jewish father and Protestant mother. His father assumed his mother's faith. His uncle on father's side was David Cohen.[2] During his childhood Cohen wished to become a pediatrician. After attending the gymnasium he enrolled at the University of Groningen to study medicine. Due to his Jewish sounding surname he was expelled in 1941. Cohen, being only half Jewish, evaded further measures and worked as a medical analist for the next several years. Directly after the end of World War II he resumed his studies, obtaining his title of doctorandus in 1950. In 1953 he obtained his PhD.[2]

Career

Cohen started working for the Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid, a predecessor of the RIVM in 1953.[2][3] His initial wish was to start working on a polio vaccine but he was rebuffed as there was not yet a government vaccination order.[4] However, during the 1950s and 1960s he worked on the development of the Salk polio vaccine.[5] In the 1970s Cohen together with Jonas Salk and Charles Mérieux founded the Forum for the Advancement of Immunization Research (FAIR).[6] He was pivotal in the introduction of the DPT vaccine in the Netherlands.[2] At the onset of the discovery of HIV/AIDS Cohen noticed abnormalities in the blood values and stopped the import of blood to the Netherlands.[2]

During his time as director-general of the Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid he oversaw the merger with two other institutes per 1984, which resulted in the formation of the RIVM.[7] Per 1 January 1984 he was appointed director-general of the RIVM.[8] His term ended in 1986. The Dutch Council of Ministers subsequently nominated him as head of the Commission for environmental effects rapport.[9] He held this position for ten years.[2]

In 1992, after a minor polio outbreak in the Netherlands, he protested against the offer of a free polio vaccine to around nine million persons not in risk groups, calling it a "waste of money".[5]

Cohen was elected a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1980.[10] In 1986 he was named Commander in the Order of Orange-Nassau.[11]

Death

Cohen died from the consequences of COVID-19 in Bosch en Duin on 14 May 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands aged 97.[2][12] He had suffered from dementia for the last three years of his life.[2]

References
  1. D. J. van de Kaa; Kaa; Y. de Roo (19 December 2008). De Leden Van de Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie Van Wetenschappen: Een Demografisch Perspectief: 1808 Tot 2008. Amsterdam University Press. pp. 372–. ISBN 978-90-6984-552-4.
  2. Peter de Waard (21 June 2020). "RIVM-directeur die de strijd tegen aids begon". de Volkskrant. Archived from the original on 25 June 2020.
  3. Simon Rozendaal (23 April 2014). Vaccinatie. Amsterdam University Press. pp. 38–. ISBN 978-90-485-2289-7.
  4. "Polio in Staphorst" (in Dutch). Andere Tijden. 3 November 2007. Archived from the original on 20 April 2020.
  5. Wim Köhler (26 September 1992). "Zonde van het geld, al die vaccinaties". NRC Handelsblad (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 27 December 2017.
  6. Bernard Seytre; Mary Shaffer (22 August 2005). The Death of a Disease: A History of the Eradication of Poliomyelitis. Rutgers University Press. pp. 97–. ISBN 978-0-8135-3786-3.
  7. Christine Holmberg; Stuart Blume; Paul Greenough (28 February 2017). The Politics of Vaccination: A Global History. Manchester University Press. pp. 128–. ISBN 978-1-5261-1093-0.
  8. "Mededelingen en bekendmakingen" (PDF) (in Dutch). Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2020.
  9. "Nieuwe voorzitter Commissie voor de Milieu-effect-rapportage" (in Dutch). Wageningen University and Research Centre. Archived from the original on 28 December 2017.
  10. "H.H. Cohen". Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 27 December 2017.
  11. "Personalia" (in Dutch). Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde. 14 October 1986. Archived from the original on 17 May 2020.
  12. "Hans Herman Cohen". NRC Handelsblad. 16 May 2020. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
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