The landscape of the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland emerging from epidemiological and genomic data

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly affected all aspects of our lives. Through real-time monitoring and rapid vaccine implementation, we succeeded in suppressing the spread of the disease and mitigating its consequences. Finally, conclusions can be summarized and drawn. Here, we use the example of Poland, which was seriously affected by the pandemic. Compared to other countries, Poland has not achieved impressive results in either testing or vaccination, which may explain its high mortality (case fatality rate, CFR 1.94%). Through retrospective analysis of data collected by the COVID-19 Data Portal Poland, we found significant regional differences in the number of tests performed, number of cases detected, number of COVID-19-related deaths, and vaccination rates. The Masovian, Greater Poland, and Pomeranian voivodeships, the country’s leaders in vaccination, reported high case numbers but low death rates. In contrast, the voivodeships in the eastern and southern parts of Poland (Subcarpathian, Podlaskie, Lublin, Opole), which documented low vaccination levels and low case numbers, had higher COVID-19-related mortality rates. The strong negative correlation between the CFR and the percentage of the population that was vaccinated in Poland supports the validity of vaccination. To gain insight into virus evolution, we sequenced more than 500 genomes and analyzed nearly 80 thousand SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences deposited in GISAID by Polish diagnostic centers. We showed that the SARS-CoV-2 variant distribution over time in Poland reflected that in Europe. Haplotype network analysis allowed us to follow the virus transmission routes and identify potential superspreaders in each pandemic wave.