On the night from Sunday to Monday (December 11/12), 2 million e-referrals for vaccination against Covid-19 for children from 6 months to 4 years of age were issued. However, there is little interest. During the first hours of registration, only a few dozen people were registered. Few people are vaccinated against the flu. The Minister of Health announced in an interview with Radio Plus that pharmacists will soon be able to write out prescriptions for the vaccine.
Adam Niedzielski: The number of infections in the youngest age groups is increasing
Published Dec. 12, 2022 10:00
Fot. Rafał Gronecki / IOZ
- It is so that with successive waves, when the sense of danger is definitely less, people are less and less willing to vaccinate. This is an absolute mistake, because now we are in a situation where the number of infections is relatively low, and the ailment of getting sick is also much lower. Vaccination, however, is a form of insurance that we should buy for the coming season, said the Minister of Health, Adam Niedzielski, who was a guest of the Monday broadcast The Crux of the Matter on Radio Plus.
Meanwhile, epidemic data indicate a trend reversal when it comes to the number of cases in individual age groups. It turns out that it is growing in younger age groups. As pointed out by Adam Niedzielski, in earlier waves, there were fewer infections in these groups because they were isolated. The trend in the total number of infections is also reversed - increases have started to be recorded.
- We're talking 20-30 percent growth. on a week-to-week basis. However, the average level of infections is only about 450 per day, and the level of hospitalization is low. The forecasts at our disposal say that around the end of January there will be a peak of the next wave, but the number of infections will be slightly higher than 5,000, so this is not a problem from the point of view of the system's efficiency, assessed the Minister of Health.
As he added, flu is now a bigger epidemic problem. There are many times more infections with this pathogen than with the coronavirus. Despite this, interest in vaccination is negligible. This is largely due to the long access path. The Ministry of Health is working on shortening it.
– We considered a scenario of a similar approach as in the case of Covid-19, i.e. issuing referrals in the electronic system. However, the matter is a bit more complicated here, because the vaccine is a prescription drug. Therefore, such a path is not feasible. However, we will give pharmacists the right to issue a prescription. For this purpose, we have started cooperation with the Parliamentary Health Committee and the Supreme Pharmaceutical Council, announces the head of the Ministry of Health.
Adam Niedzielski predicts that the solution will be implemented this season, but most likely not until January.
