Covid-19 deaths hit record high in Russia, Ukraine and Bulgaria as vaccination efforts lag
- More than a third of deaths in Europe are in Russia, which reported 1,123 deaths Wednesday
- Only 16 per cent of Ukraine’s population is fully vaccinated, 25 per cent in Bulgaria
The daily number of Covid-19 deaths in Russia hit another high on Wednesday amid a surge in infections that has forced the Kremlin to order most Russians to stay off work starting this week.
Sluggish vaccination rates have allowed the virus to spread quickly across Eastern Europe. Ukraine and Bulgaria also reported record daily death tolls on Tuesday.
Russia’s national coronavirus task force on Wednesday reported 1,123 deaths in 24 hours, the most since the start of the pandemic. The number brought the country’s official pandemic death toll to 233,898, Europe’s highest by far. It recorded 1,106 deaths on Tuesday.
Russia registered 36,582 new cases, including 5,789 in Moscow.
With winter coming in the Northern Hemisphere, the pandemic isn’t going anywhere, belying hopes that vaccines would provide a speedy path out of the crisis.
And while the shots have proven to be effective in reducing severe illness and death, they don’t always stop infection or transmission and their potency diminishes over time, making the picture in some ways more complicated than it was a year ago.