Covid-19 in Bulgaria: Day 377

Bulgaria resumes vaccination with AstraZeneca

Immunization with the AstraZeneca vaccine was renewed in the country today after the European Medicines Agency confirmed its safety and efficacy.

We remind you that our country stopped using the vaccine against Covid-19 manufactured by the AstraZeneca company on March 12, after receiving information about adverse side effects with proper use of the vaccine and the ensuing inspection of the European Medicines Agency.

Bulgaria's electronic vaccination register resumes operation

The electronic register of those wishing to be vaccinated against Covid-19 resumes the registration for immunization. All persons who have registered for vaccination for the week in which the vaccination centres were closed will be automatically re-registered one week in advance. Each registrant will receive an SMS or email for the new date and time of administering the jab through their chosen contact channel. The system will send a new reminder 24 hours before the vaccination. Users have the opportunity to change the date and time of vaccination and choose another time window depending on the workload of vaccination centres.

The registration of new users who wish to be immunized will be possible from Saturday, March 20, 2021 at https://www.his.bg/bg/reservation.

Bulgaria receives new deliveries of AstraZeneca and Moderna vaccines

Over 33,000 doses of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine and over 16,000 doses of AstraZeneca have been delivered to Bulgaria. The news was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Health.

The vaccines were immediately distributed to the regional health inspectorates in the country.

The next delivery of vaccines will be on March 22 – a total of 30,420 Pfizer vaccines will be delivered, which is 9,300 doses more than previously expected.

Bulgaria reports slight decrease in daily cases of Covid-19

4,008 new cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in Bulgaria in the past 24 hours out of 17,973 tests performed, indicate data of the Single Coronavirus Information Portal. 22% of the tests have returned positive result. For comparison, a total of 4,201 Covid-19 cases were confirmed in this country during the previous day. The highest number of new infections was reported in Sofia-1,121, followed by Burgas district-329 and Plovdiv district-312.

There are 51,919 active cases of Covid-19. There are 8,082 patients in hospital, as 670 of them are in intensive care units. 102 patients have died and 1,584 people have recovered from Covid-19 in the past 24 hours.

5,350 vaccines have been administered in Bulgaria in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of inoculations against the novel coronavirus to 356,052. 66,741 people have already received their second vaccine dose.

New local anti-epidemic measures can be adopted after elections

We will not be able to cope with the growing number of infection cases in the next 10 days, but with the restrictive measures we will ease the workload on hospitals, Assoc. Prof. Spas Spaskov has told the "Horizont" program of the Bulgarian National Radio.

"If the measures needed to be continued, it would happen after the elections. The state cannot be closed during elections. I don't think we are late with the introduction of the 10-day lock-down. Introduction of common measures for the whole country is not so efficient and local measure must be taken," Prof. Spaskov added.

According to him, laboratory data from PCR tests were not always reliable.

Therefore, patients with symptoms of Covid - 19 should be those hospitalized and treated, Prof. Spaskov said.

Poor disease prevention during pandemic increases Covid-19 mortality

The increase in the number of Covid-19 deaths per 100,000 people is worrying. The indicator is a result of a range of complex factors, but it is also due to the missed prevention of chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension, Dr. Dancho Penchev, Director of the Sofia Regional Health Inspectorate, said for Nova TV. People have neglected the screening tests, which should be done on a regular basis. The huge impact of the virus on people’s health is due to underlying health conditions, said Dancho Penchev.

Bulgaria’s health authorities expect that the number of new infections will not continue to rise and that the number of Covid-19 hospitalizations will fall after the ten-day lockdown.

Number of early marriages among Roma increase amid Covid-19 pandemic

The problem of early marriages among Roma has returned amid the Covid-19 pandemic due to the lack of in-person classes, Tanya Hristova, educational expert and coordinator at Amalipe Center for Interethnic Dialogue and Tolerance, said in an interview for BTA.

More than 25 young students from a high school in Pazardzhik got married since the beginning of the school year. The same trend has been also witnessed in the town of Sliven.

The lack of devices for distance learning is another problem. Amalipe Center for Interethnic Dialogue and Tolerance has launched an academy for young mentors where more than 180 children from all over the country are trained to help their peers learn how to work with electronic devices, added Tanya Hristova.

Compiled by Gergana Mancheva and Radio Bulgaria's News Team

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