Plans for the Fall '21 Semester

Last updated June 2021

The guide to safety has never been more straightforward - get vaccinated at your earliest convenience to ensure the well-being of yourself and those around you. We encourage you to get your vaccine at the nearest vaccination center or contact the AUBG Health Center.

Are the Vaccines safe?

This has been the question of the day for the past months. A lot of rumors and real scientific information clashed in the field of the official and social media channels. And it resulted in a loss of confidence and trust among many people, even to the level of fear and panic.

What are the real facts?

Yes, the COVID-19 vaccines, currently used in almost all countries, have a special regimen of use – EUL (Emergency Use License).  It means that they were tested to be effective and safe and can be used under the circumstances of the pandemic situation, but their use will be monitored continuously for any further side effects.

• There were a very limited number of severe side effects, not exceeding 25-30 cases among the several million doses administered.  They all were carefully investigated and, where it was necessary, the official recommendations of the specific vaccine have been changed.
• It does not change the fact that the benefit of these vaccines exceeds the risks of their use.  The numbers: complication ratio is less than 1/1,000,000; the risk of severe illness and/or death, caused by the coronavirus infection, is from 1/10 to 1/5, in some countries even higher.
• The vaccines or most of them do not contain live coronavirus.  This way they cannot cause the disease, they cannot be a reason to pass the infection to someone else. Even more, after reaching the necessary level of immune protection, they not only protect the person from developing COVID-19, decrease the risk of transmission.

Other common “Myths” about the vaccines

The vaccine will change my genetic information.
No. None of the vaccine interacts with the human DNA, which is located in the human cell’s nucleus.  Even the mRNA vaccines only stimulate the ribosomes to produce some proteins/virus antigens that stimulate the immune system to produce antibodies.

The vaccine will affect my fertility.
No. Even more, some of the vaccines have been tested and approved safe for kids and pregnant women.

The vaccine’s side effects will put me in bed for weeks.
No. The usual symptoms after a vaccine last up to 24-36 hours and require only some very basic treatment – painkillers (paracetamol, ibuprofen) and good hydration.

Read our interview with Dr. Ventsislav Daskalov, Director of the Health Center at AUBG, on the safety and the efficacy of the vaccines and the differences among AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and Moderna.

Credible Vaccine Information

CDC: Benefits of the Covid-19 Vaccines
CDC: Facts about the Covid-19 Vaccine
CDC: UnderstandingmRNA Covid-19 Vaccines
UNICEF: What You Need to Know about the Covid-19 Vaccines
European Center for Disease Prevention and Control
WHO: Covid-19 Vaccines
European Vaccination Information Portal

Информация на български език:

Европейски портал за ваксиниране
Единен информационен портал

Our main goal is to have on-ground classes and we are fully prepared to have a semester as close to normal as possible. But the complexity of the situation calls for having several scenarios in place in order to ensure a smooth education process no matter the circumstances we might face. The infographic illustrates the scenarios and what is the driving factor behind each of them.

Here you can watch the conversation between SG President Viktoria Ivanova, Dean White, Dr. Daskalov and President Evans about the plans for next semester and the vaccines.

To sum it up, we are prepared for all three scenarios: an on-ground, a hybrid (following the same protocols as in Fall’20) and an online fall’21 semester.

On-ground: If the Bulgarian government allows on-ground classes and vaccines are available to AUBG students;
Hybrid: If the Bulgarian government allows on-ground classes but vaccines are not available to AUBG students;
Online: If the Bulgarian government does not allow on-ground classes.

To learn more about the vaccination process and whether vaccines will be available to international students in Bulgaria, listen to Dr. Daskalov who explains that in details in the video.

We have scheduled a zoom meeting on July 20 at 1:00 pm for you to ask your questions. You could send your question in advance to rwhite@aubg.edu and we will make sure to answer it during the Zoom meeting.

A recording will be available after the event for those of you who cannot attend.