Vaccines for COVID-19 in Poland are getting closer. As promised by the health minister, the first groups of people are to be vaccinated at the turn of January and February 2021. Friday the 4th of December 2020, preliminary vaccination procedures were announced. Meanwhile, more questions arise from the public about its side effects. Doubts are dispelled by Dr. Lidia Stopyra, a specialist in infectious diseases, head of the Department of Infectious Diseases at the Stefan Żeromski Specialist Hospital in Krakow.
Declaration of readiness
From Friday, medical entities may declare their readiness to participate in the national vaccination program against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, said the head of the Prime Minister’s Office, Michał Dworczyk. Recruitment has started on the Internet. There you will find all the details that must be met by hospitals and clinics to participate in the program. The first stage of recruitment will last until December 11 .
“On December 15, there will be information about all reported points where it will be possible to get vaccinated. We estimate that in Poland it may be approx. 8 thousand. points, in large agglomerations” – said Dworczyk. “We want the program not to disturb the normal functioning of the clinic” – he specified. Additional points will also be provided in reserve hospitals.
Point in each municipality
In addition, in line with the promises of the government, each commune will have at least one mobile vaccination point dedicated to people with disabilities who cannot reach stationary places on their own. Each doctor will be able to decide on a qualification for vaccination.
“We want hospitals, health care centers, private entities to report their teams. There is no requirement that the entity has a contract with the National Health Fund. It is enough for the team to meet the basic criteria” – said the Minister of Health, Adam Niedzielski. “We will pay great attention to the safety of patients during vaccination” – he added.
The registration & Evaluation Process will be ongoing!
It includes o disinfection of the entire infrastructure intended for vaccination. Each hospital should have a vaccination coordinator who will take on the reporting responsibilities so that it is clear how the program is going, how many people have already had their vaccinations.
Please do not count that this vaccine will be today or tomorrow. The clinical trial registration and evaluation process are ongoing. The vaccine will probably be in early January. It will not be introduced until we are sure that it meets all the safety and effectiveness criteria.
Prof. Andrzej Horban, chief advisor to the prime minister for combating the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic.
2 doses are required!
The vaccination effect is expected to be visible after about 6 weeks. Prof. Horban recalled that 2 doses would be required. He stated that the vaccine did not alter the genome, as some say. Local reactions may occur, such as with influenza vaccination.
“In the beginning, we want to protect the groups that are most at risk of dying. The vaccine will work if most of the population is vaccinated” – added prof. Horban. “Vaccination of young people will be done in the second place” – he said.
Qualifications for the vaccine
How will the qualification for vaccination look like? “If there are indications for vaccinations, there are basically no contraindications. Apart from a high fever” – said prof. Horban. “We vaccinate everyone, regardless of the level of antibodies or infection, to make them more resistant to re-infection” – he specified.
Doubts about the safety of the preparation
Meanwhile, more and more questions and doubts about vaccine safety arise among part of the society. Doubts in this regard are dispelled by Dr. Lidia Stopyra, a specialist in infectious diseases, head of the Department of Infectious Diseases at the Stefan Żeromski Specialist Hospital in Krakow.
“These vaccines are worrying because they were developed quickly.” You can comment on it this way: need is the mother of invention. No serious and self-respecting company would release a vaccine on the market, the safety of which would not be certain, because it could lead to multi-million dollar lawsuits and, as a result, bankruptcy.
Dr. Stopyra
And he adds that we can assess their safety by analogy to other vaccines produced by the same method.
“On this basis, we can assume that this vaccine, like any other substance that has been introduced into our body, may, for example, cause a strong allergic reaction. However, it should be realized that the risk of such complications is extremely rare. They are also nothing compared to the behavior and severe course of COVID-19”, explains Dr. Stopyra.
A chance to return to normal?
In her opinion, the COVID-19 vaccine is a chance to return to normal. When asked how many people would have to be vaccinated in order for us to feel safe, she replies: “Judging on the basis of the experience that medicine has with other infectious diseases, we can assume that with vaccinations at the level of 80-90% we will be able to feel safe”.
The level of protection also depends on how many people have contracted the disease. And we do not know this completely, because the statistics only include the number of convalescents who have had the tests performed, and yet there are a lot of people who have not been tested.
Recent numbers (as of 5th December, when the article was published)
Recent laboratory tests have confirmed SARS-CoV-2 in 13,239 people, 599 of whom are residents of our province. Since the beginning of the pandemic in the region, infection with Coronavirus has been confirmed in 96 140 people. Unfortunately, a lot of infected people still die every day.
Article translated from Gazeta Krakowska (published on the 5th of December 2020) – read it in the Polish language here.
Stay safe!
The Twisted Red LadyBug
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