What must happen to lift the restrictions in Poland? Dr. Afelt about the most important thing

Proven content

More and more countries in Europe are relaxing or lifting restrictions related to the COVID-19 epidemic. “Now is the time for us to regain our daily lives,” said Norway’s Minister of Health recently. When will we be able to say the same in Poland? According to Dr. Aneta Afelt from the COVID-19 Team at the President of the Polish Academy of Sciences, this is not the time to think about easing the restrictions. – In Poland, we are in totally specific conditions – he notes. How to understand it, she explained in an interview with Medonet, pointing out directly what would open the way for us to say goodbye to the restrictions.

1. – I am not surprised that some countries abolish restrictions – emphasizes Dr. Aneta Afelt, commenting on the epidemic decisions of Western European countries. – They have a high vaccination rate, there is social responsibility and trust, and finally – the Omicron wave is behind them
2. The specialist notes that in Poland we talk a lot about easing restrictions, and meanwhile “we have a rule – we do as we want”. – The effect is that the legal provisions themselves, and the reality itself
3. According to Dr. Afelt, a direct comparison of the epidemic situations of Poland and Western Europe does not make much sense for other reasons: – In Poland, we are in totally specific conditions (…) There is a good chance that a third of us have been infected in each of the coronavirus waves
4. Respond before it’s too late. Get to know your Health Index!
5. You can find more about the coronavirus on the TvoiLokony home page

Monika Mikołajska, Medonet: More European countries are easing or lifting restrictions. In the UK, almost everything has been abolished, including the requirement for face masks in public places. Similarly in Denmark. Restrictions are also loosened by, among others France, Switzerland, Ireland. Many people ask themselves: when is Poland’s turn? The light in the tunnel appeared. “I hope that in March we will be able to make bold decisions to lift the restrictions,” said health minister Adam Niedzielski a few days ago.

Dr. Aneta Afelt, COVID-19 Team at the President of the Polish Academy of Sciences: Let’s start with the fact that the restrictions in force in Poland are purely theoretical. We have a rule – we do as we want. The effect is that the legal provisions themselves, and the reality itself. The exception was the very beginning of the epidemic, when we actually adapted to the conditions. Then, however, doubts began to arise in society. And now, well, Poles behave as if the virus has always been with us and does not cause any harm.

What’s more, in the public space we have a confusion of concepts – we call freedom behavior that is in fact arbitrary. Segregation – a strategy to ensure population safety (vaccination). It makes me very angry inside.

The rest of the text is below the video.

You are often in France. There are no such attitudes there?

There isn’t. In Poland, we are in totally specific conditions. In France, the social culture is definitely different than in Poland. Of course, protests from people who do not want to vaccinate or do not agree to a covid passport are also taking place. Importantly, however, they did not take over the discourse in the public space.

In France, it is a social tradition that public space is shared. Freedom, understood as freedom of behavior, concerns private and home space. There have been very heated discussions about life during the epidemic in many French homes. In public, however, people followed recommendations and regulations, regardless of their views. Of course, there were people who tried to break away, but the public reaction here was ostracism. In critical situations, the police were simply called, which first used persuasion, and if that did not work, issued a mandate that was not canceled. The cost of the fine is on average a dozen or so euros (at the end of spring 2020, even 160 euros), but if someone regularly broke the regulations, the amount to be paid could eventually reach even several thousand euros.

Let us add another difference – countries that abolish restrictions are at a completely different level of vaccination than we are. For example: Denmark over 81 percent. after two doses, Italy – over 77 percent. Similarly, France. In Poland, it is less than 58 percent. (data from ECDC).

Exactly. In countries easing the restrictions, the percentage of fully vaccinated people is very high. And I am talking about the entire population, including children over five, who can benefit from vaccination. Moreover, the percentage of people after a booster dose is also high (including the additional dose in Poland over 28%, in France – over 55%, in Denmark over 61% – editor’s note).

I would like to point out that the restrictions are not disappearing in France. A covid passport is still valid for internal journeys. Moreover, from February 16, it will only be valid after three doses of the vaccine have been taken. This means that people without booster immunization will not be able to move around the country.

Meanwhile, in Poland, no one actually asks for a covid passport …

We allowed for almost unlimited exposure to the virus. Looking at what is happening, it can be said that we have been exposed to the conditions of natural selection. Effect? We have a disastrous record of deaths from SARS-CoV-2. No other European country with a high level of social culture has as many deaths as Poland.

Coming back to the easing of restrictions by some European countries: infection rates are falling, but still high. Is this a good time for such a loosening? Maybe it’s too early for that?

The wave of Omikron infections in Western European countries is over. Let us remember that in Poland the dynamics of the epidemic is slightly shifted in time. This applied to both the 2020 spring wave, and the fall wave, and the Omicron wave, and finally the spread of the variants themselves. When the Delta variant was dominant in the West, it was still the current Alpha variant in our country. When Europa left Delta and entered the Omicron wave, the Delta mutation still had the advantage here. Only now has Omikron become dominant in our country, with Delta’s participation less and less. The west of the continent has already done so.

So I am not surprised that some countries are lifting restrictions. They have a high vaccination rate, there is social responsibility and trust, and finally – I repeat again – the Omicron wave is behind them.

What are the French reactions to easing the restrictions? Can you feel universal satisfaction, maybe even joy?

This situation is treated quite normally. In restaurants, we are still asked to show a covid passport, actually people already show it themselves. All areas of culture (cinemas, theaters, museums, etc.) were open to fully vaccinated or negative-tested people, as did public transport and recreation. They are simply the conditions under which this availability is enforced. Currently, we are not even talking about enforcement, but about good practice and shared responsibility.

France experienced the deaths of its citizens very badly. The way the elderly began to leave was a deep shock for the French. Let us remember that this is a country where the traditions of multigenerational families are cultivated and where the responsibility for each other is at a really high level.

One may ask why in Poland, where the family is so important, the information about the deaths, which was abundant, did not really impress? Over 19 people have officially died in Poland because of and with the participation of COVID-100. people! We have at least twice as many excess deaths. I do not remember any extensive actions or strategies being undertaken in the public space to reduce our population risk of losing loved ones.

Taking into account all the differences mentioned by you, it can be said that a direct comparison of the epidemic situations of Poland and Western Europe does not make much sense?

You could say. Especially since there is one more factor. The dynamics of the epidemic in Poland is also influenced by different climatic conditions than in the West, and thus – different behavior in the social space. This makes the transmission conditions of the virus slightly different as well. Our climate is relatively colder, we spend more time indoors – this is conducive to an epidemic.

Recently, in an interview with the Polish Press Agency, prof. Piotr Kuna said that he is a supporter of lifting almost all epidemic restrictions, including quarantine. «The reports from South Africa that said from the very beginning that the Omikron variant is very contagious, but most often it causes the symptoms of infection typical of a common cold are confirmed (…) What was most feared, i.e. the breakdown of the health care system, in terms of caring for COVID patients , it did not work »(more on this).

Remember that research on Omicron infectivity comes from countries that have excellent monitoring and epidemic testing systems, as well as very high vaccination rates. It is also known that those who have taken the booster dose actually develop Omikron infection more gently. A question can be asked which of the specialists – and this is not me – is able to take responsibility for stating that in the conditions we have in Poland, the pathogen gives milder symptoms and milder consequences of infection?

In Poland, we are in totally specific conditions. We have a testing system that shows values ​​that are absolutely far from reality. We do not know the real scale of infections. There are probably six, nine, even 12 times more. Not only that, we already know that we are infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus many times. There is a good chance that a third of us have been infected in each of the coronavirus waves.

1. It is possible that we will all get infected with Omicron? Dr. Afelt: we play biological roulette

I am not a medical doctor, so I cannot comment on the medical aspects. However, from the epidemiological point of view, I conclude that there is a very precise relationship between the health status of the population and the percentage of vaccinated people and the response to the epidemic, i.e. the need for hospitalization and the number of deaths.

1. The grim truth about Omikron in Poland. We have approx. 500 thousand infections daily

Time for the most important question: what do we have to do to finally be able to safely say goodbye to all restrictions in Poland? A light appears in the tunnel, decisions have been made to shorten isolation and quarantine.

In my opinion, these activities result from the large scale of infections and the associated scale of imposed isolation / self-isolation / quarantine. The result is that there is simply not enough people to ensure business continuity.

1. Post-shift isolation and quarantine. We answer the most common questions

Coming back to the most important question, the answer is still the same: we need to get vaccinated against COVID-19. It should be done by every healthy person, that is, everyone who has no medical contraindications for receiving the vaccine. Let’s not look at the statistics, let’s look at ourselves. By vaccinating, we reduce the risk of getting sick, but also protect people who cannot be vaccinated because they are still too small or too sick. Are we really ready to risk the life and health of our children, parents and compatriots in Poland? This is what we do when we abandon vaccination.

You may be interested in:

1. The willingness to vaccinate rapidly decreases. Poles stop being afraid of the coronavirus
2. The health minister announces “the beginning of the end of the epidemic”. Expert: This is a complete misunderstanding of the dynamics of virus evolution
3. Experts: COVID-19 will become endemic. What does this mean for us? [WE EXPLAIN]