From October 5, children will be able to get a nasal flu vaccine, the health ministry says. Deliveries of injectable flu vaccines are running late, and the first batches are not expected until the end of October.
Bulgaria has already received 75,000 doses of the nasal vaccine. Of these, 47,504 doses are set aside for the National Vaccination Programme against seasonal flu in children for 2026-2030, and the rest will go to pharmacies. The doses are now being sent out to hospitals, clinics and pharmacies.
The health ministry was told about the delay in injectable vaccines on September 29. The hold-up is on the manufacturers' side and affects both the national programme and pharmacies.
The delay comes down to a change in the make-up of flu vaccines for the Northern Hemisphere for the 2026/2027 season, which pushed production back. On the advice of the World Health Organization, the vaccines now include three new strains, and the type B flu strain was picked later than usual. Higher demand for flu vaccines worldwide is also a factor. Other countries in the European Union, as well as in North America and Asia, are facing the same delivery problems.
Bulgaria is due to receive 770,000 doses of flu vaccine in total for the 2026/2027 season, according to the Bulgarian Drug Agency.
COVID-19 vaccination is free and will be given at regional health inspectorate offices and at hospitals and clinics. People at high risk of severe illness will be vaccinated first, but anyone who wants the vaccine can get it, based on the version approved for their age group.
The vaccine now in stock has been updated to target the XFG variant, and there is enough for children over 6 months old too. 14,400 doses have arrived, with another 31,680 due by the end of the year, said Dr. Kremena Parmakova, head of the ministry's infectious disease surveillance department, a day earlier.
The list of places offering COVID-19 vaccination will be published on the websites of the regional health inspectorates.