Gov't to co-finance transport of disabled to vaccination points

The Polish government will co-finance 80 percent of local governments' costs for transporting disabled people to get vaccinated against Covid-19, a deputy interior minister announced on Thursday.

Deputy Interior Minister Paweł Szefernaker told a press conference about arrangements made for the vaccination programme during talks of local government officials within the framework of the Joint Commission of Government and Local Government.

It was established that the government will finance 80 percent of the average transport costs of conveying disabled people to vaccination points, the deputy minister said. The government has set the rates in cities of more than 100,000 residents at PLN 75 (EUR 16.64) and in municipalities of fewer than 100,000 at PLN 65 (EUR 14.42), with the rate for transporting an able-bodied person set at PLN 30 (EUR 6.65).

"Transport should be earmarked for people with certified disability to a significant extent," the deputy minister explained. In municipalities of fewer than 100,000 residents and in rural areas, the transport will also apply to people having difficulty in reaching the vaccination points, such as the elderly.

Szefernaker said that while some local government officials had argued for greater support of the grounds that in some places the costs would be higher than the government estimates, the rates were accepted in principle by the majority of officials.

Under the arrangements, local governments will also join in an information campaign intended to reach people who should be in the first phase of the vaccination programme. The government's vaccination commissioner has assured local authorities of access to informational materials, Szefernaker said.