Covid vaccines will be administered in 5 phases

The Covid-19 vaccination plan provides for the population to be immunized in 5 phases, the timing of which will depend on when and how many vaccines will be available. Vaccinations will be voluntary and free, regardless of whether people have health insurance or not. People will have the opportunity to choose which of the available vaccines will be administered and will sign an informed consent for their use. The indications of each of them will be explained to them by a doctor, who will evaluate the health of a person before vaccination. People don’t need to get tested for coronavirus before getting vaccinated, but they can if they want to. This became clear during the presentation of the National Covid-19 Vaccination Plan adopted by the government on Friday.

In general, the plan does not have a clear timetable, because it is not yet clear exactly when the individual vaccines in the European portfolio will be authorized by the European regulator EMA. That is why Health Minister Kostadin Angelov clarified that the plan will be updated on the fly.

In phase 1 Doctors, nurses, paramedics who are at high risk of infection and can transmit the infection will be vaccinated. 243,600 people are expected to be vaccinated at this stage. These include 30,000 physicians, 10,000 dentists, 46,000 healthcare professionals, 6,600 master pharmacists, 2,000 assistant pharmacists, and 150,000 support staff. Hospital workers will be vaccinated in the hospitals themselves, while pharmacists, dentists and others. it will be taken over by the GP system.

In Phase 2 Users and staff of social institutions, teachers and other pedagogical specialists, mink farm staff are included. Mobile points will be arranged for them on site.

In phase 3 They are employees of key sectors for the operation of the state, such as the Ministry of the Interior, the security services, the water supply and sewerage sector and the energy sector, etc.

In phase 4 Seniors and seniors over 65 and people with concomitant diseases are placed. The expected number of people to be vaccinated at this stage is 1.8 million.

In phase 5 They are vulnerable groups of the population due to the high epidemiological risk of infection associated with their lifestyle.

Health Minister Kostadin Angelov assured that There will be no Bulgarian citizen who wants to be vaccinated and does not receive the desired vaccine.. Immunization of the target groups will be carried out according to pre-prepared lists of doctors in medical institutions for ambulatory and hospital medical care, RHI, by doctors in specialized structures of the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Defense and by specially created teams, incl. and mobile equipment.

The importation of vaccines in our country and its application will begin after receiving permission from the European Medicines Agency, since the individual phases of vaccination will depend on when and in what quantities the vaccines begin to arrive in the country.

“It is not clear at this point when which vaccine will arrive. It is possible that sometime between the second and third trimesters of next year, 5-6 vaccines will arrive and the quantities will arrive at once. So the whole vaccination process it will depend on what we have at our disposal. the moment “, explained the Chief Inspector of Health of the State, Dr. Angel Kunchev.

“The procedure to follow for these vaccines is centralized and all the experience of the European EMA regulator has been adjusted. This evaluation will ensure that the vaccines meet all quality, efficacy, and safety requirements.“said the director of the Agency for Medicines, mag.-pharmacist Bogdan Kirilov. Currently, the most advanced vaccines are Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna, which require special logistics. For the import of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine, logistics in our country are already being prepared and today the first freezers for storage at minus 80 degrees will be installed in “BulBio” and the capital RHI, and on Saturday in RHI-Burgas. Separate logistics will be provided for Moderna vaccine as it requires storage at -20 degrees.

Kunchev explained that there is no problem with immunization that begins during an epidemic and this approach has been applied to previous diseases.

He pointed out that the assessment of whether to give the vaccine will be done by a doctor, and it will not be necessary to do a coronavirus test before, because, according to him, it is not necessary. The fact that you are in the incubation period and you are going to be vaccinated will not lead to anything worse, but you will be inclined to attribute the causes of the disease to the vaccine in a purely psychological way. This cannot be avoided and it is with other vaccines. Of course. Any citizen, if he wishes, can be tested before vaccination, but this is not necessary and will not be done en masse. Kunchev said.

According to Kunchev, there is still no answer to the question. whether people who have had the disease should be vaccinated, but he personally believes that it is appropriate to be vaccinated.

At a later stage, when more types of vaccines are available, ethical framework to guide which type of vaccine is appropriate for which group in society: adults, people with chronic diseases.

“We need to reach 75% immunization to protect society as a whole. But they are still volunteers. “Kunchev said.

Borissov: What we know, let society know.

“We are fulfilling our commitment and adopting the National Plan on time. The country is ready and logistically to comply with the first delivery of vaccines and, without wasting time, to start immunization, which will be completely free and voluntary.”Said Prime Minister Boyko Borissov on the occasion of the adoption of the plan by the government.

“What we know, society must know, on the same day, hour, moment, so that every Bulgarian citizen can make a decision about immunization.”Borisov said.

They divide the country into 6 regions for logistics

The country will be divided into 6 regions according to the National Vaccine Plan, and each of them will have a person in charge who will carry out the central logistics: RHI-Vratsa, RHI-Veliko Tarnovo, RHI-Varna, RHI-Burgas, RHI-Plovdiv , RHI. -Sofia. They will work in cooperation with the Head of the Coordination Headquarters, Krassimir Gigov.

District 1 includes Vidin, Montana and Vratsa districts;

Area 2 – Pleven, Lovech, Gabrovo, Veliko Tarnovo and Ruse;

Area 3 – Razgrad, Targovishte, Shumen, Varna, Dobrich, Silistra;

Area 4 – Sofia city, Sofia region, Pernik, Kyustendil, Blagoevgrad;

District 5 includes Pazardzhik, Smolyan, Plovdiv, Stara Zagora, Haskovo, Kardzhali;

District 6 – Sliven, Yambol and Burgas.