Coronavirus: in Bulgaria, they suspended the …

The lack of interest of a large part of the Bulgarian health workers to be vaccinated against the coronavirus leads the government of this country to dispense with the strategy of phases and to offer it “to whoever wishes.” Following the announcement, there was a flood of requests to medical hospitals.

In the past three days, some 33,000 people have been vaccinated in Bulgaria, while in the previous seven weeks, only 90,000 had done so.

Prime Minister Boiko Borisov on Friday ordered health authorities to open vaccination centers for anyone wishing to be vaccinated, without respecting the phases applied. In a video posted on Facebook, Borisov announced that the vaccination was open “to anyone who wants it and not just to those in phase”. In his publication, the president showed his anger that only 10% of citizens who had requested to be vaccinated, in the phase which was their turn, attended the appointment set to be vaccinated.

Before the government broke its own plans, it was in phase 3 (security forces and essential services managers) and 4 (over 65).

The authorities, who only use the drug from the AstraZeneca laboratory, have decided to use all the doses available for the newly vaccinated, and not to reserve them for the second dose of those who have already received an injection.

Bulgaria vaccinated 1.7% of its population, the lowest rate in Europe and one of the lowest in the world, according to information from the “Our World in Data” database, linked to the University of Oxford.