site.btaMinister, Healthcare Workers and Patients Call on Everyone to Get Vaccinated against COVID-19

Sofia, November 2 (BTA) - Health Minister Stoicho Katsarov and organizations of healthcare workers and patients called on all citizens to get vaccinated against COVID-19 at a joint news conference on Tuesday. "We are here to express our shared concern. We are all confronted by a huge threat and we need to act together," Katsarov said.

According to the Minister, the healthcare system is coping well but the next two weeks will be crucial. He said the current COVID-19 wave is the worst as the Delta variant of the coronavirus has proven much more contagious and lethal. "This is not just a healthcare crisis; this is a national disaster," Katsarov commented.

He warned that the healthcare system cannot cope on its own, without the involvement of the public, regardless of how well it is prepared and organized. He urged people to observe a few simple rules: wear a face mask, limit their contacts, observe social distancing and get vaccinated.

Milka Vassileva, President of the Bulgarian Association of Health Professionals in Nursing, said about 45 per cent of nurses in Bulgaria have been vaccinated against COVID-19. "Our mission is to protect people's health, to help and heal them by using the advances of science," she said, urging everyone to get vaccinated.

Bulgarian Dental Association President Nikolai Sharkov said over 40 per cent of dentists have been vaccinated against the disease. He argued that vaccination is the only thing that can save dentists because they are on the frontline of the struggle against COVID-19.

Bulgarian Pharmaceutical Union President Asena Stoimenova-Serbezova said "we should pull the people out of the vicious circle of disinformation" and "we need to have a plan encompassing all institutions so that fear can be dealt with".

Bulgarian Medical Association President Ivan Madzharov said doctors are accused of providing ambivalent information to the public, but the truth is that 90 per cent of them provide scientifically confirmed information. Some of the physicians who had "a different opinion" have become politicians, he noted.

National Patients' Organization Chairman Stanimir Hasardzhiev said: "Bulgaria has failed with the vaccines. Very bold actions are needed in this harsh new wave. We should think out of the box. I hope those who hesitate do not have to learn the hard way that there are no conspiracies."

Data from the National Centre for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases show that two-week COVID-19 incidence in Bulgaria is 909 per 100,000 population.

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Over 40 per cent of teachers in Bulgaria have been vaccinated; this is more than twice the nation's average rate, the press office of the Ministry of Education and Science said. Some 30.55 per cent of the non-teaching staff in the education system has got the jab. The rate among school students who are over 12 years old has increased to over 5 per cent.

Vaccination data about teachers, school students and non-teaching staff in education has been posted on the new official Viber channel of the Education and Science Ministry. The channel also provides information about education policies and news. DS/VE