Bulgaria removes the requirement for informed consent form before vaccination against Covid-19

As of November 19, the signing of a written informed consent for the vaccination against COVID-19 will not be required, Bulgaria’s caretaker Minister of Health Stoycho Katsarov said at a briefing.

A study by the Ministry of Health showed that there are no legal or medical grounds for requesting such informed consent form from patients before vaccination against Covid-19. The director of the European Centre for Infectious Disease Control, Andrea Ammon, who visited Bulgaria, also supported this opinion.

An open hotline for the medical aspect of vaccination will be operational from Tuesday, Stoycho Katsarov announced. The hotline will answer any questions members of the public may have about their current heath condition and whether it is compatible with the vaccine.

Further 1 million child friendlyt tests are expected to be ordered this week for the purposes of testing in the schools. According to Stoycho Katsarov, the amount is enough for most students to return to in-person classes. He spoke with Education Minister Nikolai Denkov with a request to discuss the possibility of high school students being tested with tests for adults.

The Minister of Health also stated that at the moment Bulgaria does not have to take advantage of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.