Waldemar Kraska: Triple tests may appear next week

According to Waldemar Kraska, the fall in flu incidence in the pediatric group was due to the holiday break in schools.

– We are observing a reduced number of children and adolescents hospitalized in pediatric wards. Compared to the previous week, it fell by 400 people across the country. We have almost 17,000 at our disposal. places in pediatric wards. For the moment, there are enough beds, especially since the percentage of their occupancy is falling, said the Deputy Minister of Health.

The situation has improved noticeably, especially in those voivodeships where 90% of occupancy in children's wards. Now that percentage has dropped to 80 percent. These are the following voivodeships: Lubelskie, Podkarpackie and Świętokrzyskie.

In the meantime, tests detecting SARS-CoV-2 infection, as well as influenza and RSV virus should appear in clinics soon.

– Yesterday there was a meeting of the Transparency Council. There is a positive recommendation and we are only waiting for the official recommendation of the Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Tariff System. This will depend on the regulation issued by the Minister of Health. We monitor how many such tests can be provided by manufacturers. We want the tests to be widely available. They will be reimbursed at GP clinics. The National Health Fund will pay not only for the test itself, but also for its performance, announced Waldemar Kraska.

Tests should be available early next week. In Poland, however, we are still dealing with low influenza vaccination coverage. However, it may be improved by facilitating access to vaccinations.

– At the next session of the Sejm, we want to propose amendments that will allow people who apply directly to a pharmacy to be vaccinated immediately, without necessarily obtaining a referral from a family doctor. We want to give pharmacists the opportunity to issue a prescription for the flu vaccine. I think that this will definitely encourage Poles to get vaccinated - added the deputy head of the Ministry of Health.

Although the number of new coronavirus infections in Poland reaches several hundred, the data coming from China, where the number of infections is increasing, is worrying. Some countries introduce the obligation to test people arriving from this country, but there is no such decision in Poland yet.

– We are checking the possibility of new mutations. The Chinese side has not reported them so far. Also in people returning from China to Europe and the USA, we do not confirm any new mutations, which is what I am most afraid of - said Waldemar Kraska.