site.btaPrime Minister Says Each Vaccinated Pensioner Will Get Lv 75
SC 13:37:31 23-12-2021
LN1335.109
109 COVID-19 - PM - STATEMENT - VACCINATION amplified
Prime Minister Says Each Vaccinated
Pensioner Will Get
Lv 75
Sofia, December 23 (BTA) - Prime Minister Kiril Petkov Thursday said each pensioner who gets a COVID vaccine in the coming months or has received a booster shot will get a one-off payment of 75 leva. Petkov announced the government's economic measures aimed to step up the vaccination drive.
"Every fully vaccinated pensioner will get this supplement," said Petkov, stressing that vaccination remains voluntary.
Earlier in the day, he held a discussion with his COVID adviser, Virology Professor Radka Argirova.
Bulgaria is under the threat of becoming a "COVID ghetto", and no one would want to visit the country, neither as a tourist nor for a business trip, Argirova said in a video of her conversation with Petkov, distributed to the media by the cabinet's press service.
According to Argirova the threat comes from the low percentage of vaccinated Bulgarians. She said that it is possible that Bulgaria becomes a country with an endemic spread of the virus. It is possible that new vaccines will have to be prepared for certain regions, Argirova added.
"The World Health Organization says that the countries with lower vaccination rates should be separated in a common red area and it should be worked with differently. Things are very serious", Argirova commented.
The COVID pandemic in countries with good vaccination rates will be less severe, she added. "Right now the virus is under great pressure. This is not the same virus that used to roam back in February, March, April of 2020," the expert said. "The pressure [on the virus] comes from the people who have already been sick, those who have developed antibodies, whether from getting sick or vaccinated. Also, new medications are developed that specifically target the virus, not just the symptoms," Argirova explained. The virus will try to mutate in order to bypass people's immunity, which is when this pressure will play a role. The professor predicts that the pandemic will gradually subside if most people are immunized and have antibodies. She expects the mass psychosis will decrease in April or May of 2022 in the countries with high vaccination rates.
The Prime Minister said that Bulgarian people must show clearly they don't want their country to be "a COVID ghetto". "We want to be a normal European country with vaccination rates that are comparable to the rest of Europe. And that depends on every one of us. We can no longer hide behind the Government. Each one of us must make up their own mind. We all have to state that we want to be a part of the solution, not a part of the problem," he said.
He added that the Government is planning an intense campaign to step up vaccinations. DD/YV/NZ/LN
//
LN1335.109
109 COVID-19 - PM - STATEMENT - VACCINATION amplified
Prime Minister Says Each Vaccinated
Pensioner Will Get
Lv 75
Sofia, December 23 (BTA) - Prime Minister Kiril Petkov Thursday said each pensioner who gets a COVID vaccine in the coming months or has received a booster shot will get a one-off payment of 75 leva. Petkov announced the government's economic measures aimed to step up the vaccination drive.
"Every fully vaccinated pensioner will get this supplement," said Petkov, stressing that vaccination remains voluntary.
Earlier in the day, he held a discussion with his COVID adviser, Virology Professor Radka Argirova.
Bulgaria is under the threat of becoming a "COVID ghetto", and no one would want to visit the country, neither as a tourist nor for a business trip, Argirova said in a video of her conversation with Petkov, distributed to the media by the cabinet's press service.
According to Argirova the threat comes from the low percentage of vaccinated Bulgarians. She said that it is possible that Bulgaria becomes a country with an endemic spread of the virus. It is possible that new vaccines will have to be prepared for certain regions, Argirova added.
"The World Health Organization says that the countries with lower vaccination rates should be separated in a common red area and it should be worked with differently. Things are very serious", Argirova commented.
The COVID pandemic in countries with good vaccination rates will be less severe, she added. "Right now the virus is under great pressure. This is not the same virus that used to roam back in February, March, April of 2020," the expert said. "The pressure [on the virus] comes from the people who have already been sick, those who have developed antibodies, whether from getting sick or vaccinated. Also, new medications are developed that specifically target the virus, not just the symptoms," Argirova explained. The virus will try to mutate in order to bypass people's immunity, which is when this pressure will play a role. The professor predicts that the pandemic will gradually subside if most people are immunized and have antibodies. She expects the mass psychosis will decrease in April or May of 2022 in the countries with high vaccination rates.
The Prime Minister said that Bulgarian people must show clearly they don't want their country to be "a COVID ghetto". "We want to be a normal European country with vaccination rates that are comparable to the rest of Europe. And that depends on every one of us. We can no longer hide behind the Government. Each one of us must make up their own mind. We all have to state that we want to be a part of the solution, not a part of the problem," he said.
He added that the Government is planning an intense campaign to step up vaccinations. DD/YV/NZ/LN
//
news.modal.header
news.modal.text