Sofia, December 23 (BTA) - Prime Minister Kiril Petkov Thursday said each pensioner who gets a COVID vaccine in the coming months or has received a booster shot will get a one-off payment of 75 leva. Petkov announced the government's economic measures aimed at stepping up the vaccination drive.

"Each and every fully vaccinated pensioner will get this supplement," said Petkov, stressing that vaccination remains voluntary.

Earlier in the day, he held a discussion with his COVID adviser, Virology Professor Radka Argirova.

The measures will take place from January until June 30, 2022. If Bulgaria manages in January and early February to vaccinate 300,000 of its citizens over 65 years of age, hospital admissions during the next COVID-19 wave should diminish considerably, Petkov said.

It is a priority for the Bulgarian government to do everything possible in order not to have so many people dying from COVID-19, to have a maximum decrease in hospital admissions, and to protect the elderly who are at greatest risk, said Petkov.

Petkov reminded that vaccination is both a personal and a public responsibility, and Bulgaria ranks last in the EU. Bulgaria risks to become a COVID-19 destination with reduced tourism revenues and further restrictions for businesses with every next wave of infections, if the country remains with the lowest vaccination rate compared to the rest of the EU, Petkov said.

Bulgaria is at risk of becoming a "COVID ghetto", and no one would want to visit this country, neither as a tourist nor for a business trip, Argirova said in a video of her conversation with Petkov, distributed to the media by the cabinet's press service.

According to Argirova, the risk comes from the low percentage of vaccinated Bulgarians. She said that it is possible that Bulgaria becomes a country with an endemic spread of the virus. It is possible that new vaccines will have to be prepared for certain regions, Argirova added.

"The World Health Organization says that the countries with lower vaccination rates should be separated in a common red area and should be worked with differently. Things are very serious", Argirova commented.

The COVID pandemic in countries with good vaccination rates will be less severe, she added. "Right now the virus is under great pressure. This is not the same virus that used to roam back in February, March, April of 2020," the expert said. "The pressure [on the virus] comes from the people who have already been sick, those who have developed antibodies, whether from getting sick or vaccinated. Also, new medications are developed that specifically target the virus, not just the symptoms," Argirova explained. The virus will try to mutate in order to bypass people's immunity, which is when this pressure will play a role. The professor predicts that the pandemic will gradually subside if most people are inoculated and have antibodies. She expects the mass psychosis will decrease in April or May of 2022 in the countries with high vaccination rates.

The Prime Minister said that Bulgarian people must show clearly that they don't want their country to be "a COVID ghetto". "We want to be a normal European country with vaccination rates that are comparable to the rest of Europe. And that depends on each of us. We can no longer hide behind the Government. Each one of us must make up their own mind. We all have to state that we want to be a part of the solution, not a part of the problem," he said.

He added that the Government is planning an intensive campaign to step up vaccinations.

The government clarified the details of the new measure. The money will be paid out with the next pension. There will be a cash supplement for all retirees who begin their vaccination course in the coming months. For those who have already received two doses of the vaccine, the incentive will be paid after receiving the booster dose.

The possibility of reducing the interval between the second and the booster doses is being considered in accordance with already accepted European practices.

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The non-profit organization National Board of Tourism (NBT) supports the Government introducing stimuli for people to get vaccinated. Vaccination rates are directly proportional to foreign tourists' trust in our country, so higher rates would benefit both the 2022 winter and summer holiday seasons, said Polina Karastoyanova, Executive Director of NBT.

The low vaccination rates hinder both tourism and attracting foreign investments. Most countries require PCR tests for anyone coming back from Bulgaria, which raises the costs of travelling to this country.

Bulgaria's main sources of tourism, such as the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Russia and the Scandinavian region, encourage their citizens to spend their vacations in highly vaccinated regions. These same countries' health authorities monitor the percentage of vaccinated staff members, who work in the tourist industry, adds the NBT. DD/YV/NZ/LN