A Reader contacted us via WhatsApp Reader:

Is the issue of being coerced into vaccinations of interest? How do employers in Bolesławiec blackmail people, what methods do they use to persuade them to voluntarily get vaccinated against COVID? It concerns [to] the Bolesławiec artillery unit, [...] the commander does not send soldiers on annual leave. He says that annual leave will be granted only after vaccination against COVID-19. He will not grant it to soldiers who have not been vaccinated against COVID.

And added:

The vaccination is allegedly voluntary, so using such methods is illegal; it should not happen.

To support his claims, the Reader sent the response of Deputy Minister of National Defence Wojciech Skurkiewicz to a parliamentary interpellation on the matter:

[…] in response, acting under the authority of the Minister of National Defence, to the interpellation of Mr MP Paweł Szramka concerning the vaccination of Polish Armed Forces soldiers (No. 23031), I kindly inform you that the vaccination process for soldiers is conducted on the basis of and in accordance with the National Vaccination Programme.

As I already informed you in my response to the previous interpellation of Mr MP Paweł Szramka on the same matter, the above-mentioned programme—as stipulated in its assumptions—is implemented in the Polish Armed Forces on a voluntary basis.

Soldiers are vaccinated on the basis of declarations submitted beforehand. Vaccination is determined by individual medical factors qualifying a given soldier for vaccination, including contraindications such as allergies. Failure to be vaccinated against COVID-19 will not result in a lower evaluation of a soldier.

At the same time, an information campaign is being conducted in the Polish army for soldiers, and an incentive system has also been created to persuade as many military personnel as possible to get vaccinated.

In conclusion, I would like to point out that protecting the health of soldiers is an important element of the armed forces’ combat capability, while the measures undertaken, including preventive vaccinations, are intended to create safe working and service conditions while carrying out tasks—often in difficult circumstances that pose various risks to health and life.

It is not known whether such situations actually occurred. On 14 July, we asked the press officer of the 23rd Silesian Artillery Regiment in Bolesławiec for comment on the matter. We have not received a response to date. Attempts to make contact by telephone were also unsuccessful.

What do you think? We invite you to discuss the matter.