Sofia, Bulgaria: The Health Ministry consented to the recommendations made by an expert council concerning the administration of the second booster shots (the fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccines). The second booster shot will be administered in the country to citizens above 18 years.
The health ministry, in its statement, notified that the second booster shot could be injected after four months of the administration of the first booster dose. Only those citizens are qualified to take the fourth COVID vaccine dose who have completed their vaccination course.
The categories include people – who are immunocompromised; transplant patients receiving immunosuppressive therapy; chronic dialysis patients; patients with oncohaematological diseases.
The second dose of the mRNA COVID vaccine has been highly recommended for the seven categories of people 18 years and above, the health ministry further highlighted.
The vaccination rate of the Balkan state is among very low in the European region as compared to the other nations. Only 29.8% of the total targeted eligible population of Bulgaria is fully vaccinated as of June 23, 2022.
The second booster shot will be administered at regional health inspectorates’ vaccination centres, general practitioners’ offices, as well as in inpatient and outpatient care facilities, the health ministry further informed.
The National Immunisation Register – part of the National Health Information System, will be responsible for permitting the introduction of the second booster mRNA vaccine. It then notified that the citizens would also be receiving a vaccination certificate after taking the dose.
This decision could prove to be a turning point in the Vaccination drive of the European country and assist it in achieving the immunization 40% target set up by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Additional 320 cases of the contagious novel coronavirus have been recorded in Bulgaria during the last 24 hours, as per the data shared in the unified information portal.