Bulgaria’s Health Minister: We May Achieve Herd Immunity by End Summer if Vaccine Rollout Keeps Pace

On Tuesday,Health Minister Kostadin Angelov told journalists that if the share of people getting vaccinated remains as high, Bulgaria may achieve herd immunity by the end of this summer. Together with Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and Deputy Prime Minister Tomislav Donchev, he inspected a vaccination site in the village of Malevo opened  to serve several neighboring settlements.

According to Angelov, the plan to reopen restaurants on 1 March has not been changed.

"We are pleasanatly surprised by the pace of the vaccination process," he said, adding that there are still some organizational issues to address, like redirecting vaccines from one place to another. He explained this with the high vaccination intent.

"We managed to convince people to listen to the voice of science, and not to the pseudo-authorities spreading fake news," he commented.

The Health Minister said that the delivery of vaccines to all GPs' offices is problematic for now but the government is negotiating early deliveries with AstraZeneca.

Prime Minister Borissov said that the current rate of vaccination must be maintained. He added that after an online meeting with President of the European Council Charles Michel and several of Borissov's counterparts, it became clear that in order to speed up supplies an airplane has been designated for transporting vaccines by air, rather than by land.

According to the Prime Minister, the organization of the vaccination process is perfect. Asked about the upcoming elections in the context of the pandemic, he said that Bulgaria has the entire March to administer vaccines and ensure a strong shield against the virus, even if that entails a risk of overburdening the health system.