Poland Stands Alone in Refusing Swine Flu Vaccines
From Associated Press (January 13, 2010)
WARSAW, Poland--The decision seemed fraught with risk: a government
refusing to import swine flu vaccines amid worldwide warnings of a
spreading epidemic.
But Poland did just that, becoming the only country worldwide known
to reject the vaccines over safety fears and distrust in the drug
companies producing them _ concerns international health experts
reject as unfounded.
Now that the current outbreak appears to have peaked in much of
Europe, many Poles feel their government has been vindicated:
Countries with large stockpiles often saw low public interest in
the vaccines and face financial loss from unused doses now set to
expire. But Poland's government didn't spend a cent fighting the
epidemic.
All along, the decision by Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Health
Minister Ewa Kopacz met with broad support. Even with 145 swine flu
deaths in Poland to date, many Poles view the rejection of the
vaccines as a laudable gesture of defiance against pharmaceutical
companies, sentiment shaped by a strengthening anti-vaccine
movement and conspiracy theories about the vaccines circulating on
the Internet.
"I had the impression that the information about swine flu was
manipulated in order to create a panic," said Barbara Lazniewska, a
38-year-old architect who was among the many Poles to applaud the
government's stance.
Poles take pride in having a strong independent streak and many
respect the government for defying the EU, the World Health
Organization and other international groups that urged countries to
implement vaccination programs _ advice that smacked to some of
meddling in internal affairs.
The prime minister described Poland as a country with the rare
"courage" to refuse a vaccine that he believes has not undergone
sufficient testing.
"We are making this decision only in the interest of the Polish
patient and the taxpayer," Tusk insisted in December. "We will not
take part because it's not honest and it's not safe for the
patient."
The anti-vaccine movement argues it is untested or contains risky
ingredients, like the preservative thimerosal. However, there is
little difference in the swine flu vaccine's formulation from the
regular flu vaccine, which is available in Poland, and all evidence
so far suggests it is safe and effective. The WHO says more than
150 million people have been vaccinated in more than 40 countries
and that no unusual or dangerous side effects have been seen.
"The saving grace for Poland is that this swine flu pandemic is so
far very mild. It would be a big scandal if this were a virus that
would cause many deaths," said Andrew McMichael, an immunologist
and the director of the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine
at Oxford.
Other conspiracy theories claim the drug companies making the
vaccine secretly lobbied the WHO to declare swine flu a global
epidemic to fatten their own pockets, a theory unproven but which
some Europeans seem inclined to believe. Even the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe recently recommended that the EU
investigate WHO's swine flu pandemic declaration to see if the body
acted under undue influence.
In an e-mailed statement, WHO said its members "guard against the
influence of any vested interests" but declined any other comment
on the allegations, saying the group's flu chief, Dr. Keiji Fukuda,
will address them during a news conference Thursday.
WHO spokeswoman Karen Mah said the organization has no reports of
other countries rejecting the vaccine outright. Some countries,
however, haven't launched vaccine programs because they lack the
money.
Poland's approach contrasts sharply with steps taken by countries
such as the United States _ where President Barack Obama and his
family got swine flu shots to set an example _ and European
countries like Austria and Sweden that stockpiled enough for their
entire populations.
Other eastern EU members have also embraced inoculation, with
Hungary and Romania even producing their own domestic vaccines
against H1N1, the official name of the current swine flu strain.
Romania has seen a burst of interest in vaccines in recent days
following the death from swine flu of a well known TV actor,
37-year-old Toni Tecuceanu, on Jan. 5. Over the weekend, 13,000
people got vaccinated in Bucharest alone, the Health Ministry said
Monday _ vastly more than previous weekends that saw a few dozen at
most ask for the jab.
But no well-known Pole has died, and flu fears failed to take root
in the country of 38 million people.
Only one leading official, Janusz Kochanowski, the ombudsman for
civil rights, has waged a prominent public fight against the
government over vaccines, condemning its stance as irrational and
irresponsible. He vowed to sue the health minister for a symbolic 1
zloty (35 U.S. cents/25 euro cents) for what he describes as a
human rights offense: unnecessarily risking the health of the
population by refusing to make vaccines available or take any other
steps to fight the spread of swine flu.
Kochanowski came down with swine flu himself over the Christmas
holidays, a turn of bad luck he viewed as deeply ironic. During a
recent interview in his office he sneezed into a tissue from time
to time, and his voice was raspy as he strongly denounced the
government.
"In a normal country the media would attack a government that
doesn't want to buy vaccines and which doesn't give citizens the
right to choose. It's a basic right," Kochanowski told The
Associated Press. "The constitution obliges the government to
counteract and prevent epidemics. But rather than attacking the
government, the media are attacking me."
Though there have been no recent opinion surveys on the matter,
Kochanowski and several doctors say there is abundant anecdotal
evidence showing that most Poles support the government's
approach.
"Unfortunately most people are on the side of the government,"
Kochanowski said.
Kochanowski says he worries that the government's luck in dodging
massive problems with swine flu will only encourage it to ignore
future epidemics as well.
"This flu will pass, but there is a new flu every year and the
government should prepare every year. However, this government is
not only not preparing, but it's making a special point of not
being prepared and then claims glory," he said.
In Poland, doctors are deeply divided on the matter, but some are
clearly critical of the government.
"It should be the patient's rights to choose _ that would be
democracy in health care," said Maria Ciesielska, a family doctor
whose disapproval only intensified when her 7-year-old son was laid
up for a week with swine flu in November. "Even Hippocrates said
it's not ethical to not offer a cure if you know that one
exists."
Posted: January 2010
