Coronavirus: Poland faces surge of deaths amid high vaccine resistance

Poland and several other countries in Central and Eastern Europe are battling their latest surges of Covid-19 cases and deaths

The Polish government has urged citizens to get vaccinated but fears alienating voters who oppose vaccine mandates and other restrictions on economic life

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Health workers treat a Covid-19 patient at a city hospital in Gliwice, Poland. Photo: Agencja Wyborcza.pl via Reuters

Published: 10:15pm, 8 Dec 2021Updated: 11:56pm, 8 Dec 2021

As Hanna Zientara, 83, endured subfreezing temperatures to get a coronavirus vaccine booster shot in Warsaw, her 30-year-old grandson was starting a Canary Islands holiday while unvaccinated and stubbornly refusing his grandmother’s repeated pleas to protect himself.

“I am worried about him, but I have no influence over him. None,” Zientara said. “He has many doctor friends who aren’t getting vaccinated, and he says if they aren’t getting vaccinated, then he doesn’t have to.”

Poland and several other countries in Central and Eastern Europe are battling their latest surges of coronavirus cases and deaths while continuing to record much lower vaccinations rates than in western Europe.

Hanna Zientara, an 83-year-old resident of Warsaw, receives a booster shot in Warsaw. Photo: AP

In Russia, more than 1,200 people with Covid-19 died every day for most of November and on several days in December, and the daily death toll remains over 1,100. Ukraine, which is recording hundreds of virus deaths a day, is emerging from its deadliest period of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, the mortality rate is Poland, while lower than it was than in the spring, recently has caused more than 500 deaths per day and still has not peaked.

Intensive care units are full, and doctors report that more children require hospitalisation, including some who went through Covid-19 without symptoms but then suffered strokes.

A health worker treats a Covid-19 patient at a city hospital in Gliwice, Poland. Photo: Agencja Wyborcza.pl via Reuters

The situation has created a dilemma for Poland’s government, which has urged citizens to get vaccinated but clearly worries about alienating voters who oppose vaccine mandates or any restrictions on economic life.