The commissioner for civil rights protection (RPO) has threatened to report Health Minister Ewa Kopacz to the Prosecutor’s Office for not buying A/H1N1 flu vaccine. RPO Janusz Kochanowski reasoned that Minister Kopacz had failed to fulfill her duty to protect society from the threat of disease. He also complained that the health minister would not meet with him to discuss the matter.

“The government is not capable of dealing with this disease. The situation could get out of control,” he told TVN24.

The Health Ministry’s stance is that it will buy the vaccine as soon as it has been proven safe and the manufacturer takes responsibility for possible side effects. Although the vaccine has been accepted by a number of EU countries, Ms Kopacz claims the effects on children and pregnant women aren’t fully understood.

Deputy Health Minister Jakub Szulc disagreed with the RPO’s reasoning. “The same regulation he cited also covers the responsibility for introducing a drug to the market which may be harmful for people,” Mr Szulc told PAP.

To date 234 people in Poland have been diagnosed with so-called swine flu, while about 70,000 Poles are currently suffering from regular seasonal flu. Last winter season a total of about 550,000 were diagnosed with seasonal flu, and according to Mr Szulc there is no danger of a flu epidemic in Poland.