On January 14, 2021, the first webinar of Gugushev & Partners Law Office new project series - "The Business Asks " took place. The topic of this first-of-its-kind event was "Vaccination Against COVID-19 - Questions and Answers" with guest lecturer Major-General Prof. Ventsislav Mutafchiyski, MD, DSc, FACS.

The webinar was organized by Gugushev & Partners Law Office in cooperation with FBN - Bulgaria, the Bulgarian Business Leaders Forum, and Endeavor-Bulgaria. The purpose of this initiative is to be a discussion forum for topics, which are important both for the business and society as a whole, where leading experts in the respective field will be able to express their opinion on the respective topics. The organizers aim to provide reliable information from credible sources to a wide range of stakeholders, as a guarantee for making informed decisions.

The Panelists of the webinar were Mr. Stefan Gugushev (Managing Partner of Gugushev & Partners Law Office), Mr. Zhechko Kyurkchiev (Founder and CEO of TESY), Ms. Greta Lyubenova (Finance Manager, Cargill Bulgaria), and Ms. Zoya Paunova (Executive Director of AstraZeneca, Bulgaria). The event was attended by more than 160 people – CEOs and managers in leading companies. The moderator of the discussion was Mr. Victor Gugushev (Partner in Gugushev & Partners Law Office).

As an outstanding participant in all events related to the COVID-19 pandemic prevention in our country, Gen. Mutafchiyski explained important aspects of the vaccination process, the differences between the various vaccines, and answered the questions of the participants.

From the very beginning of the webinar, Gen. Mutafchiyski stressed that the task of the National Operational Headquarters is to provide the Government with expert and impartial advice on how to protect the population from an unknown virus. The mission of the Operational Headquarters is to protect the life and health of the Bulgarian people - through prevention, testing, and effective organization of the treatment of patients with COVID-19. While currently there is no proven effective medicine for the virus, vaccines are the only available remedy.

Gen. Mutafchiyski assured the participants in the meeting that there will be vaccines for all citizens. In accordance with the agreements between the European Commission and the EU Member States, each vaccine approved for distribution will be provided to the countries on a quota basis. According to the vaccination strategy, the first vaccination group will include the medical staff, teachers, the elderly and staff from shelters, employees of the strategic infrastructure of the country, and by the middle of the year, the vaccination is expected to cover the entire population. Regarding the safety of the vaccine, it was pointed out that no other drug in history had been tested on so many volunteers prior approval.

The general way in which vaccination will be carried out will be through a visit to the GP, but in order to increase efficiency, immunization centers will be opened in public hospitals and mobile teams will be available to visit companies and enterprises which are part of the strategic infrastructure on site. The discussion also covered the role of business leaders who could support the process by organizing on-site visits by a mobile medical team in their companies.

As for the current anti-pandemic measures, it was noted that they should not be liberalized sharply, because only vaccination guarantees sustainable protection against the disease. Other issues discussed were the clinical specifications of the developed vaccines, possible contraindications, the vaccination data storage, and digital processes in health care.