National

Health minister to be sued over swine flu jab?

13.11.2009 12:36

Poland’s Ombudsman for Citizen’s Rights, is threatening to sue Health Minister Ewa Kopacz (right) for not providing anti-swine flu vaccines.

Janusz Kochanowski announced that he is giving Minister Kopacz until Monday to make a decision to purchasing the anti-flu vaccine.

“The joke’s over,” said Kochanowski.

In the Ombudsman’s opinion, postponing the purchase of the anti-flu jab constitutes a serious health risk to society, especially children, pregnant women and health care workers.

The Health Ministry has expressed surprise at the Ombudsman’s criticism but does not intend to act hastily. “We need to make sure that the vaccine is safe,” says Jakub Szulc, deputy Health Minister.

Last Friday, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that his government won't buy vaccines for swine flu that have not been adequately tested or from producers who won't take responsibility for possible side effects.

Concern about the swine flu virus has increased in Poland since an epidemic of a flu-like illness has taken hold in western Ukraine.

More than 220 cases of swine flu have been detected so far in Poland. (mg/pg)

Comments: 10 Add new comment

Mario

13/11/2009 17:42:27

Sorry I didn't get the joke.

Pregnant woman

13/11/2009 18:09:55

So if I take vaccine and get sick or lost my baby like MANY WOMEN (http://miscarriage.about.com/b/2009/09/29/some-pregnant-women-fearful-of-h1n1-vaccine.htm)

Mr Kochanowski gives mi 1 million dollars as refund.
Right ?
Big pharma wants goverment to pay for risk and Mr Kochanowski thinks its ok. This is a joke.

People are with you Ms Kopacz! Be strong! We support you and we thank you.

emilegreen

13/11/2009 21:58:33

.......Or you can not take the vaccine and increase your risk of contacting h1n1, as pregnant women and their fetus are especially vulnerable (CDC, WHO), and take your chances. It would be up to you- pregnant woman-, or anyone , to decide if he or she or they wanted to be vaccinated. But if your one of those doomsday-conspiracy-theory usually uneducated demographic then yes, the gov't is trying to save you from pharmacies who want to kill you and take over the world. C'mon people, go to school,get an education and then come and say something intelligent!

Mario

13/11/2009 22:47:32

Let's hope that no one will accuse Ewa Kopacz of being a Russian spy

This forum is full of Stalinists. Stalin was known for seeing spies everywhere

stefan ratkiewicz

13/11/2009 23:20:31

First of all thank you Ewa Kopacz for holding your ground and not bowing to Big Pharma during this time of mass international media led propaganda.Mr. Kochanowski wants to sue you for What exactly and with
who's money ,to achieve what goal.This flying pig flu dilemma has been in the air for quite some time now and it's evolution according to the WHO and the CDC is far from convincing.What the world is witnessing at
present is a combination of this so-called swine flu intertwined with a Seasonal Flu which is more serious than in previous years .The WHO and CDC are intentionally mixing the results from both flu's together in an attempt to mislead the people in believing that flying pig flu poses a more serious risk than the seasonal one.Now the question remains is Big Pharma's swine flu shot effective against both types of Flu's currently
infecting the populace ,if so then they are attempting to monopolize the business for themselves,and if I were to guess I would say that the Seasonal Flu is more dangerous.

Jozek

13/11/2009 23:53:17

Spot on Stefan

Jozek

14/11/2009 00:09:59

To all curious about pregnant women and the vaccine,

The Flu Vaccine Horror Story You Never Heard About

http://www.lewrockwell.com/sardi/sardi134.html

emilegreen

14/11/2009 04:34:06

Spot on Stefan, spot on! You are exactly the conspiracy theory folks I'm talking about. I can hear you guys wining from hear: "it's big pharma man"
"man, it's propaganda"
"It's the Gov't man!"
It's always something with you guys: the government, pharmaceutical companies, phone companies, Area 51, etc.
And Jozek, did you ever think to ask yourself:"hmm
I wonder about the speciousness of the study which sites this story". Do you even know anything about miscarriages and how often they happen, and the numerous things that cause them. Do you really read from a site that obviously goes through no trouble to hide its agenda through such one sided articles, and then quote such a ridiculous site as presenting any truth at all?
That's right folks, you heard it here first.: the CDC and WHO are are uniting forces, something akin to a comics strip, to mislead the people; and no-one figured it out until Mr. ratkiewicz here pointed it out to the world.

stefan ratkiewicz

14/11/2009 16:09:11

To Emilegreen

Ewa is making a prudent decision by demanding guarantees from the pharmaceutical company's with regards to side-effects and who will be responsible if they do arise.You keep insisting on the vaccination of pregnant women ,yet discount the potential of complications ,the Health Minister is attempting to address these concerns for the safety of the citizens are You.

Skoy

16/11/2009 09:27:26

A good decision not to give in to the panic caused by the media over this flu. No reason to act differently than with normal flu ... on the contrary, panicky behaviour can only worsen the situation. After all, mass vaccination will only lead to immunity of the virus to these vaccines in the very near future.
It frustrates me that many people always blame the government, no matter what, and don't see that they're actually doing some good things.

Published comments are the opinions of private individuals and do not reflect the views of Polskie Radio S.A. With regards to this, Polskie Radio S.A. does not accept any liability for any content published. Any comments containing vulgar language will be deleted in accordance with Polish law.

News from Poland

National

Health minister to be sued over swine flu jab?

MOST POPULAR