COVID-19 Vaccination - Like a turtle, sluggish...

There is supposed to be no shortage of doses for all those willing. And there probably won't be a shortage, although it's worth keeping in mind that in an Onet.pl poll, just over 40 percent of adult Poles recently declared their willingness to be vaccinated against COVID-19. - If only it were true, public health specialists and vaccinologists will say. - If only it weren't true," officials responsible for purchasing vaccines and organizing the vaccination process will probably groan at the same moment. Because the momentum of this year's campaign is rather tailored to seasonal flu vaccinations (5 percent of the population), and the Health Ministry would experience a real shock if it turned out that, for example, one in five Poles wants to vaccinate (that many declared that they would "definitely vaccinate").

As it will be, we will see. It can be expected that the survey reflects views rather than intentions, and the logistics of vaccination will also do their part, reducing enthusiasm by confronting reality. There are clearly fewer vaccination centers. A large number of PCP clinics vaccinate only their patients, some do not vaccinate patients at all. The hotline doesn't work, leaving digitally excluded patients (without IKP, without smartphones, so seniors, for example) reliant on pharmacies - and these too are joining the program with slippage. Priority access for high-risk groups remains in the realm of declarations, the facts are that the stronger, better equipped - with knowledge and digital competence (tools) - wins the race.

All those who want to be vaccinated should know that only one vaccine will be available - for how long, we don't know. There is nothing to wait, for now, for the Novavax formulation, which was the last to be approved by the EMA for marketing - the manufacturer is unable to cope with the worldwide interest in the vaccine and we have to wait in line. In play, however, as you can hear from senior MZ officials, is a possible supply of Pfizer vaccines from one of the EU countries, although the health ministry's plan to have them appear first is already off the table. Either way, for now only mRNA preparations are and will be available. And with the wave of SARS-CoV-2 infections rolling in all the time, there is no need to postpone vaccination. Of course, as long as there are cannons at vaccination points, that is - vaccines.