Bulgaria Amends Legislation in Rush to Provide Swine Flu Vaccines

Buglaria’s MPs adopted Friday emergency amendments of the Medical Products in Human Medicine Act.

The aim of the amendments is to simplify the regime for purchasing medical products with state funds outside of the mandatory health insurance system in a time when the country is facing "epidemics, pandemics, or confirmed use of chemical and biological weapons, or the spread of nuclear radiation."

The MPs were in a rush because of what has been termed “a rising tension” in the Bulgarian society because of the fast spread of the A(H1N1) virus and the lack of any vaccines.

Bulgaria’s Health Minister, Bozhidar Nanev, has said that the legislative changes were going to shorten the period for getting and applying the swine flu vaccines by between 1 and 3 months.