Bulgaria is destroying a large number of expired vaccines against COVID-19 and has no intention of replenishing its stocks, the health minister said on Saturday, dpa reported.

“At the moment, there are no more people to vaccinate” the population, Interim Health Minister Asen Medzhdiev said in an interview with state television in Sofia.

Having already destroyed a “huge amount” of expired vaccines, Bulgaria is set to destroy another 2.8 million doses this year, the quoted official added.

He informed the European Commission that Bulgaria is in favor of terminating the contract with BioNTech/Pfizer, according to which his country is obliged to purchase vaccines against the coronavirus until 2025, Medzhdiev added.

This position is also supported by Poland, the Czech Republic and Lithuania, he noted.

Bulgaria has the lowest vaccination rate against COVID-19 in the EU. Only 30 percent of the 6.5 million population have basic immunization against the virus, according to official figures. In Bulgaria, since mid-November, there have been no mandatory measures to protect against the virus. (Source Agerpres)