Free whooping cough immunization for pregnant women between 27 and 36 weeks of gestation – Diseases

The Ministry of Health will provide the opportunity for all pregnant women between 27 and 36 weeks of gestation who wish, regardless of whether they have health insurance or not, to be immunized against whooping cough free of charge. This was announced by the Minister of Health Dr. Galya Kondeva at a briefing in the Council of Ministers.

An organization will be created in the RZI to carry out free immunizations.

The immunization calendar is also updated, allowing the basic planned immunization against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis in newborns to start earlier – from the 6th week.

Cases of whooping cough registered so far in the country exceed 500 compared to 4 for the same period last year.

“This clearly shows the tendency for the disease to spread epidemically. Children are the most affected, they account for over 90% of all cases. Among them, the risk group for complications and hospitalization are children up to 1 year old, and 84% of them are not vaccinated due to underage or other reasons,” the minister summarized.