By: V4 Agency
I see no reason to have myself vaccinated out of turn, but of course, I will have the vaccine administered to me when it’s my turn, Polish President Andrzej Duda said in an interview.
The government has developed some rules that apply to everyone, and I will also abide by them. I will have myself vaccinated at the same time as other 49-year-olds. I can’t imagine getting inoculated before my parents. The fact that I am the president does not change anything, Andrzej Duda said in a recent interview with Interia.pl, in response to a question on whether he would consider getting vaccinated among the first recepients, like leaders of other countries have done so in order to set a good example. He added that he did not favour the idea of politicians being inoculated before others.
After several public figures, including politicians and actors, had themselves vaccinated before others in more at-risk groups in Poland, a huge scandal ensued.
“I think some people are perhaps more fearful of the virus,” Andrzej Duda said, commenting on the case. “This fear apparently brings our chicanery to the fore, to put ourselves first when it is possible. I don’t know the situation of these people in detail, but I’m basically against anyone pushing ahead of others. We all have to follow the rules,” he said.
This case also shows that “the real [political] elite understands that they have obligations, not only rights and benefits,” he added.
The number of people vaccinated has already exceeded 140 thousand, the Polish health ministry said on Wednesday.
This figure puts Poland in third place in Europe, Michal Dworczyk, head of the Prime Minister’s Chancellery, pointed out on social media.
In compliance with the country’s vaccination programme, healthcare workers are the first to receive the jab.