Burden of chickenpox complications in Poland, 2006 to 2021: A comprehensive registry-based study.

BackgroundChickenpox, a vaccine-preventable disease caused by the varicella zoster virus, generally presents with mild symptoms but can cause complications necessitating hospitalisation. In Poland, since 2009, vaccination has been obligatory for children up to 12 years of age who are particularly vulnerable to infection and for children in their vicinity.AimTo examine the burden of chickenpox complications and the trends of hospitalisation arising from these complications over time in the Polish population.MethodsData spanning 2006-21 were sourced from the Polish Infectious Diseases Surveillance System, the Nationwide General Hospital Morbidity Study and the Statistics Poland death registry. Standardised and age-specific incidence rates, hospital discharge rates and number of deaths because of chickenpox were calculated. Moreover, the joinpoint regression model was used to analyse trends of annual hospital discharge rates.ResultsOver the analysed timeframe, 25,804 hospitalisations and 52 deaths attributable to chickenpox complications were documented, and 1.0% of chickenpox cases required hospitalisation because of chickenpox. Age-standardised hospitalisation rates varied between 2.3 and 9.6 per 100,000 population. The analysis revealed no statistically significant trend in overall hospital discharge rates from chickenpox complications. However, a notable increase in hospitalisation rates was observed in children aged 0-4 and among inhabitants of rural areas, with annual percentage changes of 4.9% and 3.4% respectively.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that the implementation of a universal chickenpox immunisation programme, supported by health education, should be considered to reduce the number of hospitalisations and nearly eliminate deaths because of chickenpox.

Effectiveness of the BNT162b2 vaccine in preventing COVID-19-associated deaths in Poland.

INTRODUCTION: Development of vaccines was a turning point of the COVID­19 pandemic. In this study, we describe the course of the vaccination program in Poland and the effectiveness of the BNT162b2 vaccine. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to analyze the vaccination rates and effectiveness stratified by age groups in Poland. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This is a retrospective study based on the data on the vaccination rate and survival status among Polish citizens, obtained from the registries kept by the Polish Ministry of Health, the Statistics Poland, and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. The data were collected between week 53 of 2020 and week 3 of 2022. The final analysis included patients who were either not vaccinated at all or fully vaccinated with the BNT162b2 vaccine. RESULTS: The database contained records of 36 362 777 individuals, of whom 14 441 506 (39.71%) were fully vaccinated with the BNT162b2 vaccine and 14 220 548 (39.11%) were not vaccinated at all. The weekly average effectiveness of the BNT162b2 vaccine in preventing death was 92.62% and varied from 89.08% for the citizens aged 80 years and older, to 100% for individuals aged 5 to 17 years. The estimated mortality rate was significantly higher in the unvaccinated group than in the fully vaccinated group in the entire cohort (447.9 per 100 000 vs 43.76 per 100 000; P <0.001) in all age categories. CONCLUSIONS: The study results confirm high effectiveness of the BNT162b2 vaccine in preventing COVID­19 deaths in all analyzed age groups.

Monitoring Health Inequalities in 12 European Countries: Lessons Learned from the Joint Action Health Equity Europe.

To raise awareness about health inequalities, a well-functioning health inequality monitoring system (HIMS) is crucial. Drawing on work conducted under the Joint Action Health Equity Europe, the aim of this paper is to illustrate the strengths and weaknesses in current health inequality monitoring based on lessons learned from 12 European countries and to discuss what can be done to strengthen their capacities. Fifty-five statements were used to collect information about the status of the capacities at different steps of the monitoring process. The results indicate that the preconditions for monitoring vary greatly between countries. The availability and quality of data are generally regarded as strong, as is the ability to disaggregate data by age and gender. Regarded as poorer is the ability to disaggregate data by socioeconomic factors, such as education and income, or by other measures of social position, such as ethnicity. Few countries have a proper health inequality monitoring strategy in place and, where in place, it is often regarded as poorly up to date with policymakers' needs. These findings suggest that non-data-related issues might be overlooked aspects of health inequality monitoring. Structures for stakeholder involvement and communication that attracts attention from policymakers are examples of aspects that deserve more effort.

Factors determining adherence to guidelines and restrictions during the initial period of the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland before the vaccination rollout.

INTRODUCTION: In Poland, like in many other countries, guidelines and certain restrictions were introduced in order to reduce the impact of the pandemic and curb the spread of the virus. These related to such behaviours as washing and disinfecting hands, wearing face masks in designated places, keeping social distance and frequently ventilating rooms. However, not all people follow the guidelines, which can lead to both health and social ramifications. The key objective of this study was an in-depth analysis of how safety rules (SR) were complied with in Poland during the initial pandemic period before the vaccines were rolled out, as well as determining factors that could affect the compliance with SR. METHODS: The study was conducted in the form of a series of cross-sectional surveys using the CATI method on a representative Polish sample in 8 rounds of interviews. Random sampling was applied. The first round was carried out from 2 to 6 July 2020, the last from 17 to 21 August 2020. The authors' original survey questionnaire was used. Factors affecting the compliance with SR were analysed using the multivariate logistic regression method on a combined group of participants from all the study rounds. RESULTS: In total, 4,800 subjects participated in the study, of which 2,512 were women (52.3%) and 2,288 were men (47.7%). Compliance with guidelines was defined based on four survey questions relating to: disinfecting hands when not at home, not touching items with bare hands when not at home, wearing face masks or covering mouth and nose, as well as washing hands after coming back home. Two affirmative answers to these questions or wearing a face mask alone (covering mouth and nose) were interpreted as compliance with SR. SR were more frequently followed by women OR=1.234 95% CI (0.988-1.543), persons over the age of 65 OR=2.098 95% CI (1.409-3.122), people with university education OR=1.315 95% CI (0.950-1.820) and residents of large cities OR=2.179 95% CI (1.382-3.437). Factors that supported compliance with SR were older age, fear of contracting COVID-19 and knowledge of SR. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: During the first wave of the pandemic, the SR compliance level was high. Nevertheless, the study identified social groups with a higher risk of non-compliance. This indicates a need for properly addressing communication to these groups, especially that, as was demonstrated, the knowledge alone of pandemic-related messages significantly increased the likelihood of following SR and restrictions. The study of infection-preventing behaviours and their context may provide essential information to guide public policies and communication strategies that would support these behaviours in order to control the spread of the virus more effectively.

Accidental drownings in Poland in 2000-2012.

OBJECTIVE: Drowning is a public health problem which is poorly recognized and analyzed in the Polish literature so far. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We analyzed all available sources of information on drowning in Poland, i.e. the data of the Central Statistical Office (causes of deaths, accidents at work) and Police Headquarters (circumstances of drowning). We discussed changes in drowning frequency, analyzing both time and space perspective as well as demographic profiles of fatal drowning cases. RESULTS: In 2000-2012, an estimated 12,702 persons died due to drowning in Poland (median of crude mortality rate - 2.6 per 100,000 population). Mortality due to drowning was on downward trend. Males aged 45-59 years, especially with vocational education, were at the highest risk of drowning. In the period analyzed, the highest and the lowest mortality rates were reported in Warminsko-mazurskie (median of mortality rate - 4.7) and Slaskie voivodships (median of mortality rate - 1.2), respectively. The highest drowning frequency was noted in the period from June to August in which a total of 5,981 cases were registered, i.e. 47.1% of all recorded drownings. CONCLUSIONS: A risk of death due to drowning in Poland is higher compared to the average in other EU countries. There is a necessity for public health intervention in this field. Furthermore, reporting systems regarding drowning in Poland should be unified.