site.btaCaretaker Health Minister Katsarov: Life Expectancy in Bulgaria Drops by 1.5 Years amidst COVID-19 Pandemic, More Vaccinations Needed in Summer

July 2 (BTA) - Caretaker Health Minister Stoicho Katsarov
 said on Friday that Bulgaria's casualties of the coronavirus
pandemic are "horrendous" and that after increasing by close to
five years in the past 30 years, the average life expectancy in
Bulgaria last year dropped by 1.5 years. Katsarov spoke during a
 meeting at the Council of Ministers with the public council
created to increase awareness about the benefits offered by the
vaccines.

According to Katsarov, there is a deceptive calm, which people
have been enjoying in recent months when Bulgaria has been in
the green area of the EU COVID-19 map. Only 25 per cent of the
Bulgarian population has been vaccinated, which includes people
who have only received one jab. He urged people to get
vaccinated during the summer.

The meeting was attended by health moderators and members of the
 religious communities.

At its most recent meeting last week, the caretaker government
decided to disband the national vaccination taskforce, which was
 established last December. A consultative vaccinations council
is being set up under the Health Minister, consisting of experts
 with a broader expertise and broader public representation, who
 will help the Minister with organizing and carrying out
vaccinations, drafting of public information and communication
with the goal of increasing public trust in the vaccines and
achieving a wider immunization coverage across the country.
RY/MY

//