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WARSAW, Poland – A hospital in Warsaw is under fire for giving COVID-19 vaccine injections to celebrities and politicians, causing public outrage and sparking a government investigation that began Monday.
Poland, which like much of Europe began its vaccination campaign on December 27, should currently only vaccinate medical workers under a government plan.
But the Warsaw Medical University hospital said last week that it had also vaccinated 18 cultural figures who are destined to serve as ambassadors for the vaccination campaign.
The hospital said it had administered a total of 450 vaccines, including 300 for its own staff and 132 for its families and patients.
The patient list included some politicians.
Among the celebrities were actress Maria Seweryn, 45, singer Michal Bajor, 63, and Edward Miszczak, a 65-year-old television journalist.
The unusual vaccines first came to light when Leszek Miller, an MEP and former prime minister and a regular patient at the hospital, tweeted a photo of a medical record showing he had received the vaccine on December 30.
Some local politicians in other parts of Poland, including members of the ruling Law and Justice party (PiS), have also come under fire for receiving the vaccine out of turn.
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told the PAP news agency on Saturday that “observing the rules of the vaccination sequence is an expression of respect for the rules of social solidarity.”
“There is no justification for breaking the rules,” he said, calling it “a real scandal.”
Government spokesman Piotr Muller said on Monday that a government investigation had started, adding: “I hope there will be a punishment as soon as today for all guilty.”
Sanctions could include financial penalties and disciplinary procedures, he said.
Poland will begin vaccinating older people, teachers and members of the armed forces later this month. Only after that will the vaccine be available to the rest of the population of 38 million people.
Michal Dworczyk, the government official in charge of vaccines, said Monday that just over 50,000 people had been vaccinated so far in Poland and he expected 2.9 million to be vaccinated in the first three months of 2020. – French Media Agency
