It may be necessary to make coronavirus vaccination compulsory in Poland, says the prime minister’s chief COVID-19 advisor. However, this should only be done if other methods of encouraging voluntary vaccination fail, he adds.
Andrzej Horban, a professor of medicine specialising in infectious diseases, was asked by broadcaster TVN24 if mandatory vaccines would be necessary. “If other methods fail, then of course yes…something like that may need to be introduced,” he replied.
However, Horban added that the issue had not yet been discussed by the COVID-19 medical council established by the prime minister last year and which Horban chairs. Given the difficulties so far in procuring enough vaccines, it has made no sense to discuss making them compulsory, he said.
He also acknowledged that implementing mandatory vaccination would be problematic. “It is hard to imagine the health minister running after citizens with a syringe under police protection and attempting to forcibly vaccinate them,” said Horban.
This week, Wałbrzych approved a resolution making COVID-19 vaccinations obligatory for its residents and people working in the city. The mayor has appealed to the health ministry to do the same at the national level.
Poland today reported administering a record daily number of coronavirus vaccines, just under 375,000. That brought the total so far to almost 11.5 million, including almost 3 million second doses. Around 23% of Poles have had at least one dose.
A poll published this week by Inquiry for Onet found that, among Poles who have not yet received a Covid vaccine, only 53% say that they intend to get one.
Yesterday the government announced that, as part of its efforts to “shift up a gear”, it will offer Johnson and Johnson vaccines this weekend without prior registrations in each of Poland’s 16 provincial capitals.
In his interview with TVN, Horban added that, while Poland is now past the peak of its third wave of the virus, it is vital to vaccinate people before the autumn to avoid a fourth. This could include vaccinating teenagers over the summer holidays, if there is evidence from clinical trials that doing so is safe.
Horban admitted that he was concerned about what effect the reopening of schools next month would have. But “there was a very strong pressure from parents and children to return”, he added. “After two weeks, we’ll be able to see what the effect is.”
Main image credit: Adam Guz/KPRM (under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
