In Bulgaria, even masks are still not worn properly

Prof. Yordanka Stoilova from the Department of Epidemiology and Disaster Medicine at the Medical University in Plovdiv commented on BNR the situation with the pandemic in Bulgaria. Dnevnik publishes the highlights of her interview.

The Ministry of Health, as well as the Chief State Health Inspector, are guided by the National Pandemic Management Plan written by them. This plan is very complete and accurate. However, what is a problem is whether it is observed.

Masks, for example, even indoors where many people gather, such as shops are not always worn. Or worn incorrectly. This wearing the mask under my nose is absolutely pointless for me, because it is an airborne infection and we inhale, respectively, the virus. So the mask should be above the nose, masks with a higher degree of protection should be worn, ordinary surgical ones should be changed every hour and a half – two, and discarded.

So, this is important. Personally, I stick to masks and I don’t think the time has come today or tomorrow to go out with masks, but if the incidence increases, as mathematical models predict, then masks should be worn outside as well. In these two years, there has always been great obstruction and disagreement in society about this.

Masks should be worn by both vaccinated and those who have fallen ill. Because is they can transmit the virus. So the measures must be observed by all.

This is the big problem in applied epidemiology – that it is difficult to convince the public, and with coercion does not happen.

The green certificate, when we voted on it, I hoped that the percentage of vaccinated would increase. But we still do not have the required percentage, including booster doses.

And for an airborne infection is needed the so-called. exhaustive immunization among the population – in other words – we must have a very high percentage of vaccinated.

There is still no research and analysis of how long the vaccine protects you. However, it was decided to set up a booster every three months, thank God, to protect people.

But we as epidemiologists and as medics are very dissatisfied with the vaccination process in our country. The fact that boosters are needed is not to blame, these are new vaccines, this is molecular medicine, this has been the medicine for decades.

Not everything can be done quickly, so it is with these new vaccines – in this case, the only remedy against the pandemic are vaccines and they have been shown to be effective against severe disease and hospitalizations. And more new vaccines will come. Yes, this demotivates people, but the vaccination process is a complex matter.