Poland’s health ministry has for the first time released data on the proportion of Covid deaths that have occurred among vaccinated and unvaccinated people.
The figures show that, among the 50,743 people who died with COVID-19 between 27 January and 7 December, 92.5% (46,934) were not fully vaccinated while 7.5% (3,809) were, reports factchecking service Konkret24.
However, those data should be viewed in the context of the fact that most Covid deaths during the period in question took place in February, March and April, at a time when only 1-8% of the population were fully vaccinated.
Looking at the data from 1 October to 7 December – when Poland saw rising deaths amid the fourth wave of the virus – the proportion of people dying who were unvaccinated was 72.7%. During that period, 52-54% of the population were fully vaccinated.
Presenting the statistics in parliament last week, the deputy health minister, Waldemar Kraska, said they show that many deaths have been “unnecessary” and “avoidable”, reports Gazeta.pl
On Friday, the health minister, Adam Niedzielski, declared that “vaccination reduces the risk of death by a factor of almost 60”. He warned that “failure to vaccinate yourself is an act of irresponsibility towards yourself and your loved ones”.
Kraska also revealed that 90% of people infected with coronavirus and 95% of those hospitalised have been unvaccinated. During the pandemic, Poland’s healthcare system – which has one of the lowest levels of funding as well as the lowest number of doctors in the European Union – has struggled to cope.
As a result, in 2020 Poland recorded the highest excess death rate of any other member state. A large proportion of those deaths were not directly the result of COVID-19, but because some people with other ailments were unable to get treatment.
“We all pay for the irresponsible decisions of those who do not vaccinate,” Jacek Wysocki, a professor of medicine and specialist in infectious diseases who sits on the prime minister’s Medical Council, told TVN24 last week.
“A patient with cancer may have problems going to the oncology ward because of a shortage of staff,” he warned.
However, health ministry data show that, even among medical staff, a significant proportion remain unvaccinated. Of active nurses and midwives in Poland, around 19% are not fully vaccinated, while among doctors the figure is 8%, reports Konkret24.
Last week, the health ministry announced that it was seeking to make vaccines compulsory for all medical staff, teachers and members of the uniformed services from the start of March.
However, no legislation has yet been introduced and the education minister has expressed his opposition to the idea. With 19% of teachers also unvaccinated, he warned that stopping them from working would leave schools severely understaffed. Hospitals would suffer a similar problem.
On Tuesday, the health minister announced plans to require all teachers, healthcare workers and members of the uniformed services to be vaccinated by 1 March https://t.co/zi32qoWcOU
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) December 9, 2021
Main image credit: Grzegorz Celejewski / Agencja Wyborcza.pl
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.
