– Any way to convince people about vaccination is good, but nothing works on the imagination as much as the death cards for people who died because of the coronavirus, which I and other doctors sign every day – says prof. Robert Flisiak, president of the Polish Epidemiological Society
- Poles are doing everything to ensure that measures such as quarantine and curfew are still necessary
- For a group of Poles, Jarosław Kaczyński, the president of PiS, would be vaccinated against the coronavirus in front of television cameras
- The curfew is for people not to leave their place of residence
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Edyta Brzozowska, Medonet: Do you have the impression that during the coronavirus epidemic, there is a slight decision chaos in the country? The rulers open shopping malls to close them immediately, the same with the ski slopes and hotels. This crisis management seems to be poor in times of epidemics.
Prof. Robert Flisiak, president of the Polish Epidemiological Society and head of the Department of Infectious Diseases and Hepatology, Medical University of Białystok: But is it only with us? If you look around Europe, everyone seems a bit confused. I would not judge our rulers so harshly. If the epidemic crisis in Poland continues and the number of cases and, above all, deaths continues to grow, we probably have no choice but to simply save human lives. And if we add an inexplicable reluctance to vaccination to avoid wearing masks and keeping social distance, then we have a set of reasons that must have led to the tightening of restrictions.
Has nothing changed in the reluctance of Poles to vaccinate?
According to recent analyzes, only 30% of people want to be vaccinated. society. I just found out that in the US this percentage is 60 percent. It is similar in the European Union countries, except for Poland. Do we feel smarter than others? As Poles, we do everything to ensure that measures such as quarantine and curfew are still necessary.
It seems that according to government officials, the virus is less contagious during Christmas, when the curfew was not introduced. But on New Year’s Eve, the virus will be more dangerous, because from 19.00 p.m. to 6.00 a.m. we will not be able to move.
Probably this decision was about the fact that on Christmas we meet rather in the family circle, and on New Year’s Eve it is easier to mix and thus spread the infection. This is similar to closing the ski slopes – after all, it is known that it is not done, because people get infected more easily when practicing winter sports, just so that they would not have a reason to leave their place of residence.
Since we already know that, as a nation, we are mostly immune to the knowledge and arguments of scientists, what to do next? Maybe President Andrzej Duda should set a good example and publicly adopt the vaccine together with the First Lady?
Do you think that the president, who a few months ago said that he “does not vaccinate because he does not” and suddenly changed his mind, will be an authority at this point? Did it make him more credible, even for his constituents?
According to the IBRiS poll in December, Andrzej Duda enjoys considerable trust. That’s 42,9 percent. respondents.
I keep my fingers crossed for this line of thinking and I hope that among them there are no unrepentant anti-vaccines, but rather people who are lost and confused by the changing signals from the rulers. If so, it is hoped that they would follow the president’s example. I suppose that in this environment, the example of Jarosław Kaczyński, the president of PiS, may be equally convincing. He even declared that he would get vaccinated. It would be nice if he did it publicly, as the US vice president has just demonstrated.
How to convince those for whom politicians are not authorities?
I am in favor of telling the whole truth about vaccines, including – and perhaps most importantly – the consequences of not vaccinating. So far, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Health Minister Adam Niedzielski prefer the system of motivation instead of sanctions. It seems to me that the media has also adopted such a procedure. Meanwhile, anti-vaccines do exactly the opposite – they threaten with vaccines that have allegedly not been tested, possible side effects, long-term consequences, and changes in genes. And it seems that Poles prefer to be scared because they succumb to their pressure. Sure, any way to persuade people to get vaccinated is good, but I think nothing works to the imagination like the COVID-19 death cards that I and other doctors have to sign every day.. Or the tragedies of families who have lost loved ones.
Drastic argumentation.
This is what it should be like. We will not convince anti-vaccines, because the anti-vaccine attitude is a state of mind, not knowledge. So until death themselves see their eyes, nothing will convince them. But we can convince those hesitating. They should see that you are really dying of COVID-19. If we don’t, we’ll have celebrity tragicomic statements about extras, not sick people in hospitals.
What if vaccinations were for cards? Like meat and sugar in the People’s Republic of Poland?
As a country belonging to the European Union, Poland has a guaranteed supply of tens of millions of vaccines against the coronavirus. However, if there is little interest in vaccinations in the country and the preparation remains in storage, it cannot be ruled out that in view of the enormous interest in other regions of the world, in the situation of the approaching expiry date, producers will start sending them to poor countries in Africa or Asia, where the vaccines will be left received with a kiss on the hand. And pharmaceutical companies will gain in image.
But I guess we don’t want to be at the bottom when it comes to vaccinations?
The manufacturer will be happy to announce that if Poland does not want to pick up the contracted vaccines, it will send them to Mozambique. Is it impossible? Over the years, we have had the lowest flu vaccination coverage in Europe. As a result, this year producers did not anticipate increased demand, and we have heard the government, companies and everyone else blame ourselves as a society. In this situation, it is difficult not to mention the words of Master Kochanowski about a Pole wise after the injury. It remains to be hoped that the final part of his prophecy will not come true “… that both before and after damage are foolish”.
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