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Regiment Adjunct Professor Dr. Georgi Popov is Head of the Department of Infectious Diseases at the Military Medical Academy. Participate in military missions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine, Kosovo and Macedonia. Part-time professor of “Infectious Diseases” for specialization students in “Medicine” and “Nurse” at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Sofia “St. Kliment Ohridski”. In 2018 he won the award “Doctors in which Bulgarians they trust. ”Blitz.bg sought the opinion of Associate Prof. Popov on the most current health issues.
– Associate Professor Popov, it has been almost a month since the restrictions imposed by the government against the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the last 4 weeks, the number of people suffering from the viral infection has almost doubled. Could the medical results be even better in the days and weeks to come?
– The measures taken were too timely and we are already seeing the first positive results. This is noticeable in us and in the hospitals that work more actively with people infected with the coronavirus infection. At the Academy of Military Medicine we have 10 of the so-called COVID Clinics, which have an average of 20 patients and I visit them every day to consult them. I notice in our clinics a significant reduction of almost half of less admitted patients. Something similar is reported in our two intensive care centers, where the number of patients has decreased. I am convinced that the restrictive measures are bearing fruit and their extension after 21 December will result in fewer ill Bulgarian citizens.
Hematologist: Whole districts in Bulgaria buy ivermectin and save themselves from COVID-19
– Are our compatriots from COVID-19 responsibly protected?
– I think the health culture of the population has increased. More than 7 months have passed since the coronavirus infection entered Bulgaria. Nonspecific measures: use of protective masks, hand disinfection and social distance have changed the prevention of respiratory infections, and not only with respect to COVID-19, and we are already treating a smaller number of patients at the beginning of winter.
– What is your opinion on vaccination?
– First I want to say that I will definitely get vaccinated and support vaccination. Moving on from your previous question on non-specific prophylaxis to prevent the virus, we move on to specific measures. First is the vaccination and second, the medication. Speaking of vaccination, I want to assure you that December 27 will start in all EU countries, including Bulgaria. 100 vaccines will be reserved for the Military Medical Academy. The first 100 people working on the front lines in the fight against coronavirus infection have already been identified and will be vaccinated. The first vaccinated at the Military Medical Academy will be our chief, Major General Mutafchiiski, and then all of us who work at the front. Additional vaccines will arrive in early January 2021, covering all of our colleagues treating COVID-19 patients.
– Thousands of Bulgarians have started using the drug “Ivermectin” in the treatment of COVID-19. What is your opinion as a specialist about this medicine?
– This drug appeared in the field of vision in the treatment of coronavirus infection in April 2020. Its properties were initially underestimated because it was thought that it could be used mainly in the treatment of parasitic diseases, leprosy and filariasis. Research was also carried out on the properties of “ivermectin” in our country. I am particularly pleased that our hospital also participated in this study, along with 9 other medical centers across the country. I was invited as a clinical consultant in this study and as such I signed a confidentiality agreement. So now I cannot comment in detail on the results of the investigation, but I will open the door a bit saying that it is coming to an end. The study was doubly combined and placebo controlled, conducted in accordance with all the requirements of world practice. We are at the end of this study and my colleagues and I gave our opinion on the use of this preparation. I can say that I am very optimistic about the one hundred patients across the country who received this drug as part of the Bulgarian study on ivermectin.
– At what stages of the development of the viral infection is it more appropriate to take “Ivermectin”?
– With this question you got exactly right in the top ten, because the answer is that “ivermectin” is used too early in the treatment of coronavirus infection. Ivermechine is not indicated until a week after illness. There are two indications: as prophylaxis, we know that there are two very important studies in Argentina and Israel, where it is included in the national center for the prevention of viral infections. In Argentina, the study ended with very good results in terms of prevention. The second administration of ivermectin is immediately after starting COVID-19 treatment. Its objective is prevention, reducing the ability of the virus to enter the cell. This is the great power of this drug and for this it is used at the beginning of treatment.
– Ivermectin is already used in countries like the United States and Israel. When can it be officially implemented in Bulgaria?
– My observations are that after the clinical trial of “Ivermectin”, which is nearing completion, it will be delivered to the Bulgarian National Medicines Agency and we will await its permission for its official use in our country as a preventive and curative tool. . Upon authorization, ivermectin will be officially introduced into clinical practice. Although the official documents will be signed in January, this preparation is already used in many pharmacies and hospitals. Colleagues from “Pirogov” report very good treatment results with this preparation.
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