Close to 274 000 doses of BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine against Covid-19 were delivered to Bulgaria on May 4, Bulgarian National Radio reported.

The doses, along with those of the AstraZeneca vaccine, will be available in the “green corridors” for Covid-19 vaccinations, open during the April 30 – May 9 holiday period.

Between April 30 and May 3, a total of 30 334 doses of vaccines against Covid-19 were administered in Bulgaria, according to the figures in the May 4 daily report by the national information system.

On April 30, a total of 12 287 doses were administered, followed by 5755 on May 1, a total of 3405 on May 2 and 8887 on May 3.

Outgoing Health Minister Kostadin Angelov told a briefing that at the beginning of next week, the number of doses of vaccines still needed for those in the first and second phases and by general practitioners would be analysed.

If there are enough doses left to complete those phases and depending on supplies, the period of the “green corridors” may be extended, he said.

The vaccines that arrived on May 4 are being distributed throughout Bulgaria.

Angelov said that there was huge interest in the country’s large cities in the vaccines, but in smaller cities, interest was lower.

He said that it was important that all GPs who want supplies of vaccines to be provided with a sufficient amount.

“There are about 4500 GPs. If each of them does 10 vaccinations a day, that makes 45 000 people vaccinated,” Angelov said.

He reiterated that there was no risk to the health of people who receive the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Those who have no severe side-effects after the first dose could safely take the second, he said.

There are sufficient quantities of the AstraZeneca vaccine in Bulgaria, because demand is minimal, with a maximum of 15 per cent of those vaccinated per day receiving the vaccine.

“I am concerned that there will be quantities of it left in the country. We are committed, when we vaccinate all Bulgarian citizens, to provide a sufficient amount of vaccines to the countries of the Western Balkans and the Eastern Partnership,” Angelov said.

He said that it would take a long time for Bulgaria’s hospital system to recover after the new coronavirus epidemic was over, because for the system to function, most important were the people working in it.

“They are very tired at the moment. Despite everything, the colleagues are coping,” Angelov said.

Outgoing Prime Minister Boiko Borissov said that a rate of 30 000 people a day being vaccinated should be reached.

“The system must be mobilised to the max,” Borissov said.