Bulgaria

[enoch]

No eggs, chocolate or alcohol? That all sounds a bit weird to me, (just saying). xx

The Russians said the same thing.

 

[enoch]

2nd January 2021. - BMA Vice-President: NO Eggs, Chocolate and Alcohol on Vaccination Day. There are NO Side Effects of the Vaccine, Dr. Nikolay Branzalov, Vice-President of Bulgarian Medical Association (BMA) told Nova TV. He himself got vaccinated and said he did not feel pain. Before the second jab, those vaccinated should reduce their alcohol intake, he recommended, and gave the advice given by older doctors for the day of Vaccination: today WITHOUT EGGS, CHOCOLATE OR ALCOHOL.. All medicines that go through European Medicines Agency are tested and safe, in his opinion. Those wishing to get vaccinated, according to Dr. Branzalov, YOU DO NOT NEED to take an Allergy Test. Antibodies formed after illness are not as sufficient as after a vaccine, in his words.

The vaccinated do not infect others and do not get sick, and the goal of doctors is not to treat citizens, but prevent them from being infected, the medic said. He does not know a doctor who hesitates about vaccination. This is the first time this type of vaccine has been given to the human population, Dr. Branzalov said.

In the last 24 hours, 816 coronavirus patients were cured, and their total number was 120,343. This is what the data from the Single Information Portal show. The new cases were274 registered after 2,447 tests. This makes 11.2% positive samples. Thus, the total number of confirmed cases reached 202,540. As of January2,active cases are 74,593, with 4,747 people hospitalized, 462 of them are in intensive care wards. Twenty-eight people have died from Covid-19 in the last 24 hours. Since the beginning of the pandemic, their number has been 7,604 people. There are a total of 4,739 people vaccinated, with no new ones vaccinated on 1 January.

Most of the new cases were established in the capital Sofia - 76, and in three areas there are none: Razgrad, Pazardzhik and Veliko Tarnovo. Morbidity statistics by regions:- YAMBOL- 6. Blagoevgrad - 9, Burgas - 35, Varna - 44, Vidin - 3, Vratsa - 5, Gabrovo - 2, Dobrich - 9, Kardzhali - 3, Kyustendil - 8, Lovech - 8, Montana - 3, Pernik - 6, Pleven - 1, Plovdiv - 13, Ruse - 8, Silistra - 2, Sliven - 7, Smolyan - 3, Sofia - 11, Stara Zagora - 4, Targovishte - 2, Haskovo - 3, Shumen - 3, .

I wish they would give numbers like that in Turkey rather than just cities.

 

[Derek Payne]

ZERO NEW CASES REPORTED FOR THE ELHOVO/YAMBOL BORDER REGION.

TODAY'S COVID FIGURES ARE - In the past 24 hours, 171 new carriers of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus have been registered in the country. 2,660 tests were made - 1816 PCR and 844 antigen. As a ratio, this makes 7% positive samples. 4,739 people have already been vaccinated, but none in the last 24 hours. In 24 hours, the virus has claimed the lives of 34 patients, 944 recovered.

Since the outbreak of the epidemic, there have been 7,678 deaths and 122,411 recovered. The total number of confirmed cases in Bulgaria is 203 051, 8933 of them are medics. The hospitalized were 4,689 and the patients in intensive care units were 453. The active cases were 72,962. 18,504 people remain under quarantine, data from the Single Information Portal show.

The newly infected cases by districts: Blagoevgrad - 2 new cases, Burgas - 4, Varna - 18, Veliko Tarnovo - 1, Vidin - 1, Vratsa - 8, Dobrich - 5, Kardzhali - 2, Kyustendil - 15, Lovech - 2, Pazardzhik - 3, Pernik - 9, Pleven - 6, Plovdiv - 11, Razgrad - 5, Ruse - 7, Silistra - 2, Sliven - 1, Smolyan - 1, Sofia region - 5, Sofia (city) - 5, Stara Zagora - 3 and Shumen - 1 case.

 

[Derek Payne]

AS OF TUESDAY 12/01/21. In the past 24 hours, 620 new cases of coronavirus infection have been recorded in Bulgaria. 7804 tests were made - 3491 PCR and 4313 antigen tests. The ratio between the made and positive tests is 6.7%. 688 people were vaccinated, bringing their total number to 14,161. By January 12, there were 8,232 active cases.

During 24 hours, the battle with the disease lost 106 people, the cured were 2583. Since the outbreak of the epidemic, there have been 8,232 deaths and 137,842 have been recovered. Currently, 4,046 patients with COVID-19 are being treated in hospitals across the country, as 375 of them are in intensive care wards. The total number of confirmed SARS-CoV-2 carriers in Bulgaria is 209,131, of which 9,168 are medics. The most of the newly registered cases are in Sofia, Blagoevgrad and Plovdiv.

Statistics of the day by regions: Blagoevgrad - 48 new cases, YAMBOL - 10. Burgas - 9, Varna - 41, Veliko Tarnovo - 11, Vidin - 1, Vratsa - 25, Gabrovo - 12, Dobrich - 4, Kardzhali - 8, Kyustendil - 12, Lovech - 6, Montana - 13, Pazardzhik - 32, Pernik - 20, Pleven - 26, Plovdiv - 47, Razgrad - 2, Ruse - 25, Silistra - 16, Sliven - 12, Smolyan - 7, Sofia-grad - 110, Sofia-region - 11, Stara Zagora - 39, Targovishte - 8, Haskovo - 36 , Shumen - 29,

15,940 people remain in quarantine, data from the Single Information Portal show.

 

[Derek Payne]

Vaccine skepticism hurts East European anti-virus efforts.
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Vaccines from the West, Russia or China? Or none at all? That dilemma faces nations in southeastern Europe, where coronavirus vaccination campaigns are off to a slow start — overshadowed by heated political debates and conspiracy theories. In countries like the Czech Republic, Serbia, Bosnia, Romania and Bulgaria, vaccine skeptics have included former presidents and even some doctors. Serbian tennis champion Novak Djokovic was among those who said he did not want to be forced to get inoculated. False beliefs that the coronavirus is a hoax or that vaccines would inject microchips into people have spread in the countries that were formerly under harsh Communist rule. Those who once routinely underwent mass inoculations are deeply split over whether to get the vaccines at all.
“There is a direct link between support for conspiracy theories and skepticism toward vaccination,” a recent Balkan study warned. “A majority across the region does not plan to take the vaccine, a ratio considerably lower than elsewhere in Europe, where a majority favors taking the vaccine.” Only about 200,000 people applied for the vaccine in Serbia, a country of 7 million, in the days after authorities opened the procedure. By contrast, 1 million Serbians signed up for 100 euros ($120) on the first day the government offered the pandemic aid. Hoping to encourage vaccinations, Serbian officials have gotten their shots on TV. Yet they themselves have been split over whether to get the Western-made Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine or Russia’s Sputnik V, more divisions in a country that is formally seeking European Union membership but where many favor closer ties with Moscow.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Saturday greeted a shipment of 1 million doses of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine, saying he will receive a shot to show that it is safe. “Serbs prefer the Russian vaccine,” read a recent headline of the Informer, a pro-government tabloid, as officials announced that 38% of those who have applied to take the shots favor the Russian vaccine, while 31% want the Pfizer-BioNTech version — a rough division among pro-Russians and pro-Westerners in Serbia. In neighboring Bosnia, a war-torn country that remains ethnically divided among Serbs, Bosniaks and Croats, politics also are a factor, as the Serb-run half appeared set to opt for the Russian vaccine, while the Bosniak-Croat part likely will turn to the Western ones. Sasa Milovanovic, a 57-year-old real estate agent from Belgrade, sees all vaccines as part of the “global manipulation” of the pandemic. “People are locked up, they have no lives any longer and live in a state of hysteria and fear,” he said.
Djokovic has said he was against being forced to take a coronavirus vaccine in order to travel and compete but was keeping his mind open. The top-ranked tennis player and his wife tested positive in June after a series of exhibition matches with zero social distancing that he organized in the Balkans. They and their foundation have donated 1 million euros ($1.1 million) to buy ventilators and other medical equipment for hospitals in Serbia.
Serbian Health Ministry official Mirsad Djerlek has described the vaccine response as “satisfactory,” but cautioned on the state-run RTS broadcaster that “people in rural areas usually believe in conspiracy theories, and that is why we should talk to them and explain that the vaccine is the only way out in this situation.” A study by the Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group, published before the regional vaccination campaign started in December, concluded that virus conspiracy theories are believed by nearly 80% of citizens of the Western Balkan countries striving to join the EU. About half of them will refuse to get vaccinated, it said.
Baseless theories allege the virus isn’t real or that it’s a bioweapon created by the U.S. or its adversaries. Another popular falsehood holds that Microsoft founder Bill Gates is using COVID-19 vaccines to implant microchips in the planet's 7 billion people.

 

[Derek Payne]

THE NUMBERS IN BULGARIA ARE CERTAINLY ON THE DECLINE - The new Pfizer vaccine shipment is already in the country. It arrived this morning at Sofia Airport. However, the batch contains half as few doses than originally announced. Due to changes in the manufacturer’s production process, Bulgaria will have a little over 18,000 doses instead of 35,000. From the logistics center of Sofia Airport, the vaccines will be distributed to the regional health inspectorates in the country. Reimmunization with Pfizer will also begin today. A second dose of the vaccine will be given to the first inoculated against the coronavirus. Among them are health minister Prof. Kostadin Angelov and Head of the National Operational Headquarters Gen. Ventsislav Mutafchiiski.

In the past 24 hours, 77 new cases of coronavirus infection have been detected in the country. 1194 tests were made - 765 PCR, 429 antigen. The percentage of positive samples remains stable - 6.4% for January 17. 121 people were vaccinated, thus their total number becomes 18,453. By January 18, there were 46,608 active cases, data from the Single Information Portal show. During the day, nine people lost their battle with the disease, 396 were cured. Since the beginning of the epidemic, there have been 8,483 coronavirus fatalities in our country, 156,722 have recovered. 3,485 people with COVID-19 are treated in hospitals across the country 341 of them in intensive care wards. The total number of confirmed SARS-CoV-2 carriers in Bulgaria is 211,813, of which 9,264 are medics. The most are the newly registered cases in Sofia, Pleven and Kyustendil, in all regions they are under 10, except for the capital.

Statistics of the day by regions: YAMBOL - 2. Burgas - 1 new case, Varna - 1, Veliko Tarnovo - 2, Vidin - 1, Dobrich - 1, Kardzhali - 1, Kyustendil - 6, Lovech - 2, Pazardzhik - 4, Pernik - 2, Pleven - 7, Plovdiv - 4, Razgrad - 2, Ruse, 4, Silistra - 3, Sliven - 1, Sofia-grad - 30, Sofia-Oblast - 2, Stara Zagora - 1, No new cases have been identified in the districts of Blagoevgrad, Vratsa, Gabrovo, Montana, Smolyan, Targovishte, Haskovo and Shumen. 13,137 people remain in quarantine.

 

[Derek Payne]

TODAY's COVID/19 UPDATE.

Covid-19 in Bulgaria: 772 Newly Infected, 60 Deaths in 24 Hours. In the past 24 hours, 60 people died of coronavirus in Bulgaria, show the data from the Single Information Portal. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, 8,880 people have died of Covid-19. On January 25,the newly infected were 772 in 13,540 tests. The data show that 5.7% of tests are positive. A total of 215,589 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed since March. As of January 26, the active cases are 26,582. Of them 2,822 people are in hospitals for treatment, of which 279 are in intensive care.

The national system documented1,059 as cured in in the last 24 hours and their total number was 180,127. Yesterday, 655 were vaccinated and since the start of vaccination program on 27 December they have been 26,798 in total. There are no regions in Bulgaria that do not report new cases of infection. The largest number of new cases were detected in the capital Sofia - 180, Plovdiv - 91, Burgas - 43, Stara Zagora - 40, Shumen - 37.

The caseload update by regions:- YAMBOL - 10. Blagoevgrad - 20, Varna - 31, Veliko Tarnovo - 22, Vidin - 3, Vratsa - 26, Gabrovo - 8, Dobrich - 4, Kardzhali - 13, Kyustendil - 24, Lovech - 11, Montana - 5, Pazardzhik - 24, Pernik - 13, Pleven - 33, Razgrad - 9, Ruse - 23, Silistra - 11, Sliven - 31, Smolyan - 14, Sofia region - 19, Targovishte - 4, Haskovo - 23,