Bulgaria’s Health Minister tables proposals for more Covid-19 vaccine orders
Bulgaria could order more than three million mRNA vaccines, Health Minister Kostadin Angelov told the weekly Cabinet sitting on February 10.
“Given the data we have at EU level and the possibility of reduced deliveries of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines, I am proposing that we order an additional amount of vaccines, which would be distributed proportionally based on our country’s population,” Angelov said, as quoted in a government media statement.
Angelov’s proposal envisions an order of about 2.9 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech jab and 460 000 Moderna vaccines.
“With this proposal, we would secure enough vaccine doses to allow all Bulgarians to have a choice as to which vaccine to receive and achieve an extremely good coverage of the population and reaching so-called herd immunity,” Angelov said.
So far, Bulgaria has ordered 3.9 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech jab and 500 000 Moderna vaccines, according to a Health Ministry statement in January. It has also ordered 4.5 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
In other news related to the Covid-19 situation in Bulgaria:
As of February 10, it is mandatory to wear a mask in outdoor public places in the municipality of Kyustendil, a decision made by the regional crisis headquarters after the incidence rates of Covid-19 and the number of patients of hospital in the city increased alarmingly.
It was reported that the current wave is characterised by a much higher and faster infectivity than in previous cases, a statement said.
The order about wearing masks while in outdoor public places in the municipality remains in effect until February 21.
Vaccination of teaching and non-teaching staff at schools in Plovdiv began on February 10.
More than 30 per cent of teachers at schools in Plovdiv have registered to be vaccinated against Covid-19, according to the municipality’s health department.
The vaccinations will be administered at municipal diagnostic-consulting centres and at four hospitals.
The vaccination campaign will run over the next two weeks, during which time teachers will continue to enroll.
Sofia municipality said that its inspectorate had carried out more than 1500 inspections at food chains and non-food retail outlets to check on compliance with anti-epidemic measures.
In the three days up to February 9, a total of 67 fines had been issued for not wearing masks, of which 31 were issued to people in shopping malls.
The inspections were continuing, Sofia municipality said.
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