Opinion of the Chief Healthcare Expert of the Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers on the National Vaccination Programme

Warsaw, 11^th December 2020

Opinion of the Chief Healthcare Expert of the Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers on the National Vaccination Programme

The fight against the epidemic is entering its decisive phase.

On 8^th December 2020 at 7:00 am GMT, the first person in Europe was vaccinated against the effects of the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2. At the same time, a document was published in Poland called the National Vaccination Programme against COVID-19.

It is beyond dispute that the scale of the planned vaccination programme exceeds any previous preventive measures undertaken within the Polish healthcare system.

The more so it is to be appreciated that such a document has been drawn up reliably referring to all the necessary areas that require clarification in this situation.

A team of experts and advisers made a considerable effort to describe the context and assumptions of the entire programme. Assuming that vaccination coverage in Poland should amount to at least 50% of the adult population, i.e. more than 15 million people, it is crucial that the logistics is handled in a way that is not only safest for patients and staff, but – above all else – operationally efficient.

The medical service providers industry calls for special attention to be given to practical solutions that can improve the effectiveness of the programme:

1. Separate from stationary contracting of home vaccinations, which means creating specialised units. The specific nature of home visits requires the organisation of a visiting doctor-and-nurse team, equipped with infrastructure for transporting the vaccine at specific temperatures, and above all, logistical planning;
2. Allowing nurses to mass vaccinate people against COVID-19 without having completed a specialist course on preventive vaccinations, performing their activities under the supervision of a physician;
3. The active promotion of the proposed system of vaccination-incentives related to the creation of an Individual Epidemic Passport, which would also include information on test results, should be a key tool supported by means of social campaigns and resuming access to specific services.

The implementation of the above-mentioned postulates should effectively improve the work of physicians within Primary Healthcare (Podstawowa Opieka Zdrowotna) and ensure an adequate personal infrastructure in the event of medical personnel shortages.

Agnieszka Szpara
Chief Healthcare Expert of the Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers

See: 11.12.2020 Opinion of the Chief Healthcare Expert of the Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers on the National Vaccination Programme

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