Polish MP whose wife died of Covid after they refused to vaccinate urges people to get the jab

A member of parliament from Poland’s ruling party whose wife died with COVID-19 after the couple refused to vaccinate against the virus has now received the vaccine himself and urged others to do the same.

“I wanted to play the hero,” says Jerzy Materna, who himself suffered a severe infection and now admits that he was “stupid” and “knew too little about the vaccine”.

Speaking to broadcaster RMF, 65-year-old Materna – who has been an MP for the Law and Justice (PiS) party since 2005 and in 2015-18 served as a deputy minister – said that he and his wife Barbara “had doubts” about the severity of coronavirus. They thought that, if infected, they would “get over it easily”.

When vaccines were introduced, though they were endorsed by the European Union and Polish authorities, “you hear this other side” expressing doubts about their safety, said Materna. He and his wife therefore chose not to receive it.

Then, in March this year, the couple were infected and suffered severe cases of COVID-19. Both were hospitalised and required oxygen therapy, with Materna saying he was in “excruciating pain”.

While he recovered after eight days on a ventilator, his wife – who was a breast cancer survivor – died in hospital on 4 April. “I never thought that I would have to live without Barbara,” he recently told naTemat in another interview. “I feel this gap in my heart every day.”

Materna said that he subsequently spoke with doctors and other experts about the vaccine and decided to take it. “I had some questions and doubts about vaccinations,” he told Polsat News. “I don’t have them any more.”

He urged other people to “think carefully and get vaccinated”, adding that he had already persuaded his 26-year-old son to do so. “I am an example [for others],” said Materna. “Better to get vaccinated than to go through what I have. I would not wish it on my worst enemy.”

Poland’s vaccine rollout, which began in December 2020, initially proceeded at a similar pace to the European Union average. Since the summer, however, it has fallen significantly behind. Around 54% of Poland’s population are fully vaccinated, compared to 67% across the EU as a whole.

The Polish government has so far refused to countenance the possibility of compulsory vaccination – something that Materna says he also does not support – nor has it introduced any additional restrictions for the unvaccinated.

Main image credit: Polsat News (screenshot)

Daniel Tilles

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.