The course of the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland (2020-2023)

Introduction:
The aim of this article was to analyze the excess mortality in Poland during the COVID-19 pandemic, from March 2020 to March 2023.

Material and methods:
The absolute number of excess deaths from all causes was calculated as the difference between the number of deaths in 2020-2023 and the average number of deaths prior to the pandemic (2015-2019). Data were obtained from the National Statistical Office.

Results:
Approximately 243 000 excess deaths were observed in Poland from mid-March 2020 to mid-March 2023. A total of 76,670 excess deaths have been observed until 31^st December 2020; 117,234 excess deaths in 2021 and 46,561 excess deaths in 2022, respectively. There was a surplus of excess mortality in men over women in 2020 and 2021. In 2022 the cumulative number of excess deaths was higher in women by 11%. Highest excess mortality was observed in older age groups (> 65). In 2020 higher crude rates of excess deaths in men were observed in western and some southern provinces (podkarpackie, opolskie and lubuskie pro­vinces), whereas in women in southern and eastern provinces (małopolskie, świętokrzyskie, mazowieckie, podkarpackie, warmińsko-mazurskie). In 2021, both for men and women highest crude mortality rates were observed in southern and eastern provinces, whereas in 2022 highest mortality rates moved to northern/western provinces (zachodnio-pomorskie, pomorskie, dolnośląskie, kujawsko-pomorskie).

Conclusions:
Poland was one of the countries with the highest excess mortality in Europe between 2020 and 2023. Excess mortality can be symptomatic of ongoing health crisis in Poland, which started prior to the pandemic.