The government will spend another €2,836,200 from the health ministry's 2026 budget on two new vaccines, its press office said. One is against chickenpox and is for children. The other is against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and is for pregnant women.

The government has released €1,904,800 for chickenpox and €931,400 for RSV. The money comes from the budget programme "Prevention and Surveillance of Infectious Diseases". Contracts for the doses needed this year have already been signed.

The National Expert Council on Immunisation proposed adding the vaccines to the immunisation policy. Ordinance No. 15 on immunisation in Bulgaria has also been amended.

The chickenpox vaccine is mandatory and will be added to Bulgaria's Immunisation Calendar. Children will get it at 12 to 15 months. The government press office says chickenpox is one of the most contagious diseases. It spreads through airborne droplets and has serious consequences for health and for society.

The RSV vaccine is targeted at women between weeks 24 and 36 of pregnancy. The virus causes anything from mild flu-like symptoms to severe illness and death in babies under six months old. Those under two months are most at risk. Vaccinating mothers protects infants in the first months after birth.

The first 150,000 doses of the injected flu vaccine have been delivered. They begin going out to GP surgeries this week. The vaccines are part of the national programmes for children and for people aged 65 and over.