After Poland’s health ministry last week outlined plans to make COVID-19 vaccines compulsory for teachers – as well as medical staff and members of the uniformed services – the education minister, Przemysław Czarnek, has declared that he is not “an enthusiast” of the idea.
Czarnek warns that, with around 19-20% of teachers currently not fully vaccinated, the education system could be “paralysed” if a significant proportion of them were not allowed to work.
“Let’s say the threat of compulsion would make half of them vaccinate,” Czarnek told Polsat News. “There would still be around 60,000-70,000 vacancies.”
The Polish education system, which already struggles with a shortage of teachers, “can’t afford that”, added the minister.
When outlining its plans to make vaccinations compulsory for certain professions, the health ministry suggested 1 March as a provisional date on which the measures would go into force. No legislation to establish the new rules has yet been put forward.
Data released last week also showed that 19% of nurses and 8% of doctors in Poland – whose health system has been severely strained by the pandemic – are unvaccinated.
Czarnek made clear that he is himself fully vaccinated, including a booster shot. Yet he said that he also appealed for more understanding towards those who are afraid of the vaccine.
“I can’t accept this crude rhetoric and blunt agitation” against people who refuse to vaccinate, saying that they are from “the Dark Ages” or “anti-science”, said the minister.
“This is insulting people who have fears for certain reasons,” he added. “These are, of course, very often irrational reasons, and there are also some stupid things disseminated by antivaxxers. But you have to understand the people who are afraid.”
Around 55% of Poland’s population is fully vaccinated, well below the figure of almost 68% across the European Union as a whole.
In response to a recent surge in coronavirus infections, Poland’s government announced a number of new measures last week.
Schools are to return to remote learning, while further restrictions will be placed on entry to certain venues. Travellers from outside Schengen will also have new testing requirements.
Main image credit: Jakub Wlodek / Agencja Gazeta
Agnieszka Wądołowska is deputy editor of Notes from Poland. She has previously worked for Gazeta.pl and Tokfm.pl and contributed to Gazeta Wyborcza, Wysokie Obcasy, Duży Format, Midrasz and Kultura Liberalna
