Covid-19 in Bulgaria: Day 402 -

Bulgaria registers over 200 Covid-19 deaths for a day

3,122 new coronavirus cases have been registered for a day after 17,402 tests, data from the Single Coronavirus Information Portal show. 18% of the samples tested returned positive result. The highest number of newly infected people is in Sofia - 758, followed by Plovdiv - 314, Varna – 233, and Stara Zagora - 195. Currently there are 9,970 patients in hospital and 776 people are in intensive care wards.

201 people passed away and with them the death toll since the beginning of the epidemic has reached 14,619. The number of recoveries for a day reached 3,098.

51 medics were diagnosed with Covid-19 and with them the total number reached 12,588. There are 71,140 active cases.

7,330 vaccine doses were administered in the past 24 hours. The total number of administered vaccines has reached 579,992 and 114,644 people have been vaccinated with both doses.

Covid-19 pandemic is the reason for a serious rise in mortality in Bulgaria

The coronavirus epidemic is one of the reasons for the rise of mortality in Bulgaria. 124,000 Bulgarians died in the past year while the average annual level in the previous 10 years was about 108,000-110,000 people, Magdalena Kostova of the National Statistical Institute has told Nova TV.

According to her, the numbers were similar to those in 1918, when Bulgaria lost 151,000 people because of World War I. Mortality during the peaks of the epidemic was extremely high. At the same time, the birth rate remains low.

For the first time in years, the population of Sofia decreased and this is due to internal migration in March and April last year, when many people changed their address because of the checkpoints. The fastest depopulating cities are in the northwestern regions of Bulgaria.

47,000 Bulgarian women vaccinated with a first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine

Almost 47,000 Bulgarian women have received a first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine. A total of 238,000 doses of the Oxford vaccine have been administered in Bulgaria until now, Bulgaria’s Ministry of Health told BGNES.

Meanwhile, the National Vaccination Headquarters announced that the AstraZeneca vaccine should be used with caution in women under 60 and that it should not be administered to people, if they are at a risk of blood clots. “Expert councils have to answer two very important questions- what to do with the people who received a first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine and what to do with people who want to receive the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine”, commented Bulgaria’s Minister of Health Kostadin Angelov on April 12. If interest in the AstraZeneca vaccine drops completely, they will be withdrawn and stored in refrigerators, Minister Angelov added.

Most people in Varna refuse to receive the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine

The vast majority of people refuse to get the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, noted general practitioners from the coastal city of Varna. Following the information about side effects, people prefer to wait for a Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

We still don’t know what to do with those who received a first dose of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, but want a different type for the second shot, Dr. Karolina Zlateva, Deputy Head of the Association of General Practitioners, told Daniela Stoynova from BNR-Varna.

Bulgaria's health authorities express concern over reports of Johnson&Johnson vaccine

"We are concerned about today's reports from the United States about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. We expect to have a decision at the end of the day, after the European Medicines Agency has issued an opinion." This was stated by Bulgaria's Minister of Health Kostadin Angelov, BNR reported.

Angelov pointed out that the possibility was being discussed for anyone who wanted to get the AstraZeneca vaccine to get it. For those who do not want to put it, we will decide what it can be replaced with, he said.

Angelov's comment came after the US Food and Drug Administration recommended that Johnson & Johnson's Covid-19 vaccine should be paused. The reason for the FDA decision is a study on a possible link between vaccination and blood clots.

Both administered doses must be of the same vaccine

"A second dose of a different Covid-19 vaccine cannot be administered; there are no clinical studies that this would be effective," Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mihail Okoliyski, representative of the World Health Organization for Bulgaria, has told BNT.

Yesterday, the Minister of Health Prof. Kostadin Angelov said that the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine could be withdrawn, as interest in it has greatly dropped. According to the WHO representative, no one realized that the coronavirus would affect the psychological functioning of the patients who overcame the illness and that one out of three would develop some kind of psychological problem. A multi-level solution must be found, as this is not just a problem of the healthcare system, he said. "A legislative initiative is needed to ensure the safety of vulnerable groups," Assoc. Prof. Mihail Okoliyski added.

Bulgarians are still divided on vaccine passports: survey

Bulgarians are still divided on the idea of so-called "vaccination passports", indicates a survey of Gallup International sociological agency and the tourism industry, conducted between March 18 and 24 among 1,000 adult Bulgarians. Half of the respondents rather agree with the introduction of vaccination passports. 43% of the respondents are against the idea.

25% of Bulgarians have postponed travel or vacation in the country, planned over the past 12 months, because of the coronavirus pandemic. 22% of the respondents postponed a trip abroad.

63% of the respondents said that they began avoiding crowded places since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. 73% of the respondents prefer a holiday trip only by car.

Study shows high distrust in media relating to pandemic coverage

The level of distrust in Bulgarian media is very high, but it is even higher among vulnerable groups. This is the main conclusion of the project "Media Independence and Access to Information in Relation to Covid-19 in Bulgaria", which focused on minorities, people in prison and residents of social homes.

According to Dimitrina Petrova of the Bulgarian Community for Liberal Democracy, it shows that media were confusing and their position was not distanced. "The topic of injustice must be separated from the news about lack of vaccines and from fake news," she said. "The lack of justice and morality in the vaccination process is not commented on, although Bulgaria’s vaccination plan has allowed the most vulnerable people to die and get seriously ill - the elderly and those with certain chronic diseases," Dimitrina Petrova adds.

Compiled by Gergana Mancheva and Radio Bulgaria's News Team

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