After EMA report, Bulgaria to continue with AstraZeneca vaccines
Vaccinations against Covid-19 using the AstraZeneca vaccine will continue in Bulgaria, but with caution regarding women younger than 60, as most cases of blood clotting cases are in that category, Medicines Agency head Bogdan Kirilov said on April 7, according to a report by Bulgarian National Television.
Kirilov’s reported statement came a few hours after a news conference by the European Medicines Agency, at which it was announced that the very rare cases of blood clotting side-effects should be included in product information regarding the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine against Covid-19.
After the EMA briefing, Bulgaria’s Health Minister Kostadin Angelov convened a special meeting of the national vaccination HQ against Covid-19.
BNT reported that after the meeting, Kirilov said that the national vaccination HQ said that there were 62 cases of side effects out of 25 million doses in the EU and the UK.
Women should younger than 60 should be questioned if they are smokers, if they are overweight, if they are taking contraceptives, the report said.
In Bulgaria there has been no case of a registered side effect of this kind after an AstraZeneca vaccine, Kirilov was quoted as saying.
In several places, including Bulgaria’s capital city Sofia, “green corridors” offering vaccinations against Covid-19 to all comers, irrespective of category in the national vaccination plan, have been opened. These offer the AstraZeneca vaccine.
However, given negative public perceptions about the AstraZeneca vaccine against Covid-19, there has been reluctance among people to be administered with it, according to media reports.
The EMA saw no bar to EU member states continuing to administer AstraZeneca vaccines.
After the EMA news conference and the special meeting of the country’s vaccination HQ, Angelov was due to take part in discussions on the issue with other EU health ministers.
As at 9pm, apart from media reports, there was no official statement on the matter on the websites of Bulgaria’s Health Ministry or Medicines Agency.
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