Senator Małecka-Libera, Vaccination Education: "The citizen is at the center of health care. Vaccinations protect individuals and society as a whole."
Health education, and particularly education on vaccinations, is not only one of the pillars of prevention but also the foundation of modern public health. As Dr. Beata Małecka-Libera, Chairwoman of the Senate Health Committee of the Republic of Poland, emphasizes: "Citizens, that's what we care about in health." Her presentation at the Vaccine Forum 2025, organized jointly by the Scientific Council of the National Program for Combating Infectious Diseases and the Senate Health Committee, is part of the celebration of the Year of Health Education and Prevention.
Senator Beata Małecka-Libera points out that prevention begins with knowledge.
Citizens, that's what we're all about when it comes to health. Prevention can be achieved in many different ways, and this not only helps the individual but, above all, translates into the health of society as a whole, which is also an extremely important value," he emphasizes.
In her opinion, the lack of health education is one of the main sources of problems in the prevention of infectious diseases.
It is precisely the lack of this awareness, the lack of knowledge, the lack of science, the lack of education in our society that makes it so easy to sow all sorts of doubts – he points out.
In the context of the resolution of the Senate of the Republic of Poland establishing 2025 as the Year of Health Education and Prevention, Senator Małecka-Libera drew attention to the role of education from an early age.
A lesson about health is a lesson about us, about humans, about their functioning and physiology. It's still difficult to understand such simple and obvious truths that should be learned in school, he notes.
She considered the inclusion of the subject "health education" in the school curriculum in June 2025 to be a key step in shaping the health awareness of the young generation.
It is worth recalling that Senator Małecka-Libera has been involved in health education for years, including in kindergartens, and promotes innovative initiatives, such as preschool education through educational gardens:
We collect not only vegetables, but also knowledge about health.
It also highlights the Senate’s exceptional openness to the voice of patients, especially in the context of health education, as we wrote here:
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According to the Chairwoman of the Health Committee, it is extremely important to strengthen so-called vaccine literacy.
We talk a lot about vaccine literacy, which stems from our observations. We believe this is a very important topic, in order to be able to understand, search for, and appropriately respond to information available in the public sphere about vaccinations," he emphasizes.
This is especially important at a time when society is facing a wave of disinformation.
People who get information from the internet rely on incorrect data and very quickly, without the appropriate knowledge, they resort to this aspect, warns the senator.
Senator Beata Małecka-Libera emphasizes that the decision to vaccinate is not a simple act, but a complex process.
The decision to vaccinate is a complex process. First, there's information. What and why? – he explains.
He emphasizes that September is a good time to talk about vaccinations, as the number of cases of influenza and COVID-19 is increasing.
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It is crucial that every citizen knows when and why it is worth getting vaccinated.
Patients can't go from doctor to pharmacy to get a prescription or search for vaccination centers. The vaccination system must be structured, organized, and organized to reach patients via the easiest path possible," he explains.
The senator recalled that health policy regarding vaccinations must cover various social groups.
We emphasize the importance of vaccinations for children and all preventive programs, which should start with the youngest ones, he says.
He also draws attention to the insufficient awareness of adults:
We have a number of groups of vaccinations already recommended here and patients very often do not know, or are confused, whether they can vaccinate, for example, with two vaccines on one day.
The senator summarized the most important challenges.
The electronic vaccine is the most important challenge, it must be absolutely organized, accessible, but also accessible to the patient - she pointed out.
She added that health education, access to reliable information, digital tools and joint actions of all groups are equally important.
If we all speak with one voice, saying that this is an extremely important area of public health, and only then can we develop it, then we will succeed," she emphasized.
Updated: 19/09/2025 08:00
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