Bulgaria’s health insurance fund signs contract for 180 000 flu vaccines, free to over-65s
Bulgaria’s health insurance fund has signed a contract for 180 000 vaccines against influenza, which are to be supplied to general practitioners and are intended for people 65 and older, to be administered free of charge.
Health Minister Kostadin Angelov said this during Question Time in the National Assembly on October 16.
The vaccines already have been imported into the country, he said.
“In addition, apart from providing vaccines for the implementation of the activities under the national programme, seasonal flu vaccines were delivered to the pharmacy network as early as the beginning of September,” Angelov said.
He told Parliament that between October 1 and December 31 2019, flu vaccination coverage among over-65s was 7.68 per cent, when the target had been 10 per cent. The aim was to reach 25 per cent coverage by 2022.
The public were encouraged to have flu vaccinations. Those below 65 have to pay a fee. Coverage among the general public in Bulgaria was low, at about 2.4 per cent, a calculation based on sales of vaccines, he said.
(Photo: Brian Hoskins)
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