Flu in Bulgaria: Morbidity Under Control, Vaccines for Adults Still Available

There is currently no need for panic regarding the flu morbidity in our country, said Chief State Health Inspector Assoc. Angel Kunchev to BTA.

There was data from Japan, Australia, and the United Kingdom that a more powerful flu wave was coming, but from what we see at the moment – the level of morbidity in Bulgaria is exactly the same as last year and there is nothing unusual or worrying in its values. We do not see changes in the way the disease progresses, although we are still at the beginning of the season and changes may occur, he added. 

The vaccine 'does its job', although since the vaccine for this season was created, there have been seven significant changes in the virus genome, but this is characteristic of the influenza virus, which is constantly changing. In any case, the vaccine will protect against severe course and complications of the disease, he added. The strength of the flu is in its variability, but this does not necessarily mean that it will be more severe or milder, noted Kunchev. 

Assoc. Kunchev reminded that people over 65 years of age, as well as those suffering from chronic diseases, should be cautious, as they are most vulnerable to a more severe course of the flu if infected.

Childhood flu vaccines have long been exhausted, and adult vaccines still have some left, but in small quantities. New deliveries are not expected, added Assoc. Kunchev.

On an online platform – through the mobile application "Find your medicine", from the beginning of October until now, 130 signals have been received for missing flu vaccine for adults and 69 signals for missing flu vaccine for children, Boryana Marinkova, director of the Bulgarian Association for the Development of Parallel Trade in Medicines - creator of the platform, said to BTA. We have helped citizens find the vaccine in pharmacies near their homes, Marinkova added, but pointed out that the platform was created mainly for reports of missing medicines.

At the beginning of October, 15,000 doses of the nasal vaccine against seasonal flu for children were delivered in the country. According to data from the Executive Agency for Medicines, a delivery of 580,000 flu vaccines for adults has been requested, with the majority of them intended for the implementation of the National Program for Improving Vaccination Prevention of Seasonal Flu and Pneumococcal Infections in people aged 65 and over, and the remaining quantities - for free sale in the pharmacy network. 

The latest data from the National Center for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases show that in the period December 1-7, the morbidity from flu and acute respiratory diseases in the country is 95 per 10 thousand people, with the highest being recorded in Pernik region – 196 per 10 thousand.