The planned admission to all hospitals in the settlements falling into morbidity red zones in the country is suspended. Sofia city and Sofia district fall into this category with nearly 30,000 infected per 100,000 people. The only reason for stopping scheduled surgeries is to vacate enough beds for Covid patients, told BNT Prof. Boris Bogov, Director of Alexandrovska Hospital.

According to him, on a weekly basis the number of newly hospitalized increases by 2-2.5%. Now there are 103 patients in Covid ward, 10 are in intensive care, the rest are medium-severe cases.

There are enough medics now, he assured, and urged people to comply with the anti-epidemic measures.

Planned surgeries are suspended in order to protect hospitals from being overloaded, said Prof. Boris Bogov.

In his words, the pressure on the part of restaurateurs and shop owners in malls was great and therefore they are open now. In Bulgaria, the morbidity and mortality rate is still lower than in other countries, Prof. Bogov assured. The natural development of viruses, including mutations, is one of the reasons for lower morbidity.

Opening the restaurants and visiting them is a matter of  personal responsibility, the medic said.

He also pointed to some weaknesses in the electronic vaccination register. This electronic system is failing. Vaccines arrive in Bulgaria, as in each shipment the deficit amounts to more than 20-30%. There are contracts that are not respected. I'm afraid a lot of people will be listed, but it is not for sure that vaccination will be made, he said.

The choice of vaccine is also a problem. If explained correctly, there are not many differences in vaccines. AstraZeneca vaccine is different is, the first were Moderna and Pfizer. About 20,000 doses of  Pfizer vaccine come every week. This suggests that there will be no shortage and people who are willing will get vaccinated.

The other weakness of the electronic vaccination system is the 10 minutes allocated for each patient, which is not enough. The patient has to be questioned, properly assessed. Ten minutes is too short time, explained Prof. Bogov.

Vaccinations at GPs offices are not included in the electronic register. If the GPs join in the campaign properly, this problem won't arise.

If there is a limited number of vaccine doses, it would be impossible to scale up vaccinations. The “green corridors” were created so as not to waste vaccines.

To patients with various diseases he explained that no one has been turned down, nor would they be sent off while the planned surgeries are put on hold. If they have a health problem (which is not a Covid), patients should seek medical attention, Prof. Bogov advised.

Vaccination is a voluntary act. It can't be mandatory. Vaccinated people do it for the sake of their personal health. This does not mean that the vaccinated person will not get sick and does not mean that he cannot be a transmitter. That’s why the vaccinated should continue to wear a mask. Many people do not understand the effect of vaccination. The vaccinated person must still protect others, they may be virus carriers. People have to be responsible,” explained Prof. Bogov.

Without EU funds, Bulgaria could not cope with the pandemic. The money was distributed fairly, according to Bogov. In his words, the health system is financed sufficiently.

The director of Alexandrovska Hospital added that those enrolled for the post-Covid rehabilitation program are on the waiting list until July. This list does not mean that everyone who has fallen ill with coronavirus should come to Alexandrovska, the idea was that all hospitals will take part in this program.

He admitted there was a shortage of specialists in infectious diseases. The highest is the shortage of medics is who want to specialize in infectious and children's diseases. This is a long-term program that will not be implemented in 1-2 years, it takes a long enough period of time, Prof. Bogov concluded.

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