Bulgaria considers incentives to boost COVID-19 vaccinations

SOFIA: Bulgaria is considering offering incentives to encourage people to get vaccinated against COVID-19, interim Prime Minister Stefan Yanev said on Sunday.

Bulgaria is one of the few countries where people can choose between four different anti-coronavirus shots approved in the European Union. Still, only 14.5% of Bulgarian adults are fully vaccinated, putting the country far behind its EU peers. On top of a general mistrust of authorities in the former communist country, Bulgarians often cite a fear of new medical products as their reason for refusing the vaccination. Another reason is that about 400,000 people have already been infected and developed resistance.