Poland’s left-wing opposition has proposed making COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for all adults and fining those who refuse to get the jab. The measure would save lives, relieve pressure on the healthcare system, and help people “live normal lives” again, it says.
The bill, which is being tabled today by The Left (Lewica), an alliance of parties that is the third-largest group in parliament, has not garnered support from the government or other opposition parties.
While Poland’s vaccination rollout initially proceeded at a similar rate to the European Union average, it has stalled since the summer. Currently around 54% of the population are fully vaccinated, compared to almost 68% across the EU as a whole.
While the government has tried numerous ways of encourage Poles to get jabbed – including a lottery with a one million zloty (€218,000) first prize – it has so far refused to countenance making the vaccines compulsory or introducing restrictions for unvaccinated people.
Meanwhile, the fourth wave of the virus has hit hard, with infections nearing the peaks seen during the last two waves and Poland currently having the EU’s fifth highest weekly rolling average of Covid-related deaths.
The situation means that “it is time to make mass use of the weapons we have” and “finish the fight against the pandemic”, wrote The Left’s spokesman, Marek Kacprzak, yesterday, announcing the mandatory vaccine proposal.
Speaking to RMF FM this morning, Włodzimierz Czarzasty, one of the leaders of The Left, cited figures showing that, of every 100 people who are dying in Poland due to COVID-19, 93 are unvaccinated.
The Left also argues that, as well as protecting people from COVID-19, mandatory vaccination would reduce the burden on hospitals and improve access to healthcare.
Last year, as the healthcare system struggled amid the pandemic, Poland’s recorded the EU’s highest excess death rate. Many of those deaths resulted not from COVID-19 itself, but other ailments that were left untreated.
Czarzasty also said that he was against another lockdown and wanted “people who are vaccinated to be able to live a normal life” and for workplaces where people have been jabbed to “be able to work normally”.
He noted that Austria has introduced compulsory vaccination, and is considering fines of p to €7,200 for people who refuse to get their jab from February, when it will become mandatory. Germany is among other countries considering a similar move.
Another of The Left’s leaders, Adrian Zandberg, said yesterday that he supports introducing a vaccination requirement for entering restaurants and hotels, as well as other restrictions for the unvaccinated. A recent poll has found that a majority of Poles support restrictions for those who refuse the jab.
Though The Left has called for cross-party support, its proposal has met with little enthusiasm from other groups. Marzena Okła-Drewnowicz, an MP for the largest opposition group, Civic Coalition (KO), said during a debate on Polsat News that they favour “convincing, not coercing” people.
She did, however, say that a vaccination obligation could be applied for healthcare workers, something the health minister last week suggested was being considered.
One of the leaders of the far-right Confederation (Konfederacja), Krzysztof Bosak, reiterated his party’s strong opposition to compulsory vaccination. “We do not live in a totalitarian state,” he said. “If people do not accept something, no law will force them to do so.
Main image credit: Dawid Dobrogowski/Twitter
Maria Wilczek is deputy editor of Notes from Poland. She is a regular writer for The Times, The Economist and Al Jazeera English, and has also featured in Foreign Policy, Politico Europe, The Spectator and Gazeta Wyborcza.
