Bulgaria’s Health Ministry approves rule for second booster after Janssen jab
Bulgaria’s Ministry of Health said on August 2 that it had approved the recommendations of an expert panel regarding the administration of a second booster dose of mRNA vaccine on a voluntary basis to everyone aged 18 years and older who had received primary immunisation with the Janssen vaccine against Covid-19.
The second booster dose can be given at least four months after the first booster in individuals immunised with the Janssen vaccine.
The Health Ministry listed categories of people, aged 18 and older, for whom it was strongly recommended that they receive a second booster dose of mRNA vaccine.
The categories are those who have compromised immune systems, transplant patients receiving immunosuppressive therapy, chronic dialysis patients, cancer patients, residents and staff of old-age homes, medical professionals involved in the treatment of patients with Covid-19, and people 65 or older.
The ministry said that the expert council’s opinion stated that in a number of EU member states (Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Malta, among others) it was possible for those who had received primary immunisation with the Janssen vaccine to receive a second booster dose of mRNA vaccine, “due to the lower levels of effectiveness with this vaccine and the need to boost the immune response over a period of time”
A second booster vaccine against Covid-19 may be administered at the vaccination points of Bulgaria’s regional health inspectorates, general practitioners’ offices, as well as in medical facilities for inpatient and outpatient medical care.
As of August 3, the National Immunisation Registry – part of the National Health Information System – will allow the registration of a second booster mRNA vaccine administered to people who received primary immunisation with the Janssen vaccine.
Those who receive this second booster will be given a vaccination certificate, of the same kind as issued for the first booster dose, with the exception that the certificate will indicate 3/3.
This certificate, like the certificate for the first booster vaccination, will be of indefinite validity, unless European regulation provides otherwise, the Health Ministry said.
(Photo: Ministry of Health)
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