Covid vaccines are “experiment” with unknown consequences, says Polish school superintendent

A Polish school superintendent has drawn widespread criticism, including from the health and education ministers, for describing coronavirus vaccines as an “experiment” with unknown consequences.

Barbara Nowak, a government appointee, is the official responsible for schools in Małopolska, a province of 3.4 million people in southern Poland with its capital in Kraków. Her outspoken conservative views on issues such as abortion and LGBT rights have made her a controversial figure.

Speaking to Radio Zet this morning, Nowak said that she was strongly opposed to the idea of making coronavirus vaccines compulsory for teachers, as the health minister, Adam Niedzielski, proposed last month.

“I absolutely do not agree with the idea of ​​forcing anyone to do anything,” she said. “People must be free to choose for themselves…especially if we are talking about vaccines…[because] as everyone knows, the consequences of this experiment are not fully established.”

During the interview, Nowak also refused to confirm whether she had herself been vaccinated against COVID-19, saying that it had no relation to her views on compulsory vaccination.

Her remarks were swiftly condemned by Niedzielski. The health minister noted that “there will always be ‘enlightened’ people who think that, with their feeble authority, that can defy the world of science”. But “such people should not have responsibility for education”.

“Vaccines are not an experiment,” he declared, but are based “on reliable research and observations”. The health minister called for Nowak to “face the consequences of her words”, though he did not specify what he meant by that.

Soon after, the education minister, Przemysław Czarnek, joined his government colleague in criticising Nowak’s remarks, which he called “harmful”.

Czarnek has himself opposed compulsory vaccinations for teachers, on the basis that, with an estimated 19-20% of teachers currently unvaccinated, excluding them would “paralyse” schools. But he said today that he “absolutely does not agree” with Nowak’s views and “encourages everyone to vaccinate”.

After the backlash, Nowak sought to backtrack on her remarks. “I admit that, having a historical education and not a medical one, I shouldn’t have commented on the issue of vaccines,” she wrote on Twitter.

Nevertheless, a number of politicians called on Nowak to resign or be dismissed. Among them were Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz – leader of the opposition Polish People’s Party (PSL) and a medical doctor – but also Beata Mazurek, a former spokeswoman for the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party and now an MEP.

Sławomir Broniarz, head of the main teachers’ trade union, also asked: “Czarnek, when will you fire Superintendent Nowak?”

However, Michał Szczerbiak, an MP for the opposition Civic Platform (PO) party, said that PiS would not “be brave enough” to remove Nowak as it “fears the anti-vaccine electorate” whom it has become “hostage” to.

Around 56% of people in Poland are currently fully vaccinated, a proportion that has risen little since reaching 50% at the start of September. It is also well below the figure of 70% across the European Union as a whole.

Although the government has encouraged people to get the jab, the lowest vaccination rates are generally found in more rural, conservative areas traditionally supportive of the ruling PiS party. By contrast, more liberal urban areas, which are opposition strongholds, have the highest rates.

In December, Niedzielski proposed making vaccines compulsory for medical workers, teachers and members of the uniformed services. Later that month, he issued a regulation requiring all medics to be vaccinated by 1 March. But no such order has yet been issued for other professions.

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.