The Covid-19 epidemic has caused the death of nearly 4 million 950,000 people worldwide since the onset of the disease at the end of December 2019, according to a report established by AFP on Monday, October 25. The health situation is not improving in all countries. In Russia, the city of Moscow has decided to re-define the over 60s for the next four months by ordering them to stay at home. Concern is also growing in Ukraine and Bulgaria.
In Ukraine, a very deadly third wave
Ukraine is currently among the three countries hardest hit by the virus in the world. The current third wave of Covid-19 is the deadliest the country has seen. In recent days, Ukraine has passed the daily threshold of 24,000 new infections and 620 deaths. The situation is particularly critical in large cities such as Odessa, Kharkiv, or Dnipro, metropolises of more than one million inhabitants, where hospitals have reached saturation point.
Half of the regions are plunging into the red zone, which is equivalent to near containment, and the indicators are deteriorating day by day in Kiev, the capital, where new restrictions could be applied, such as the closure until further notice of all non-essential services and businesses. The concern reigns, because the peak of contamination is not expected for several weeks, and President Volodymyr Zelensky, obsessed by his popularity, does not seem to take the measure of the stakes, the authorities are systematically behind. As if Zelensky was paralyzed at the idea that confinement would lower his rating in the polls.
With a vaccination rate that does not exceed 18% of the population (25% in Kiev), Ukraine is the worst performer in Europe. 98% of people hospitalized are patients who have not been vaccinated. Despite this, according to polls, a large majority of Ukrainians do not want to be vaccinated. “This situation is explained by the weakness of the institutions and the lack of confidence of citizens in these institutions., according to Oleg Saakian, a political science researcher who sees it as a sign of distrust of the authorities. But it is also, according to him, the result of the strong propaganda of the Russian media “who have done everything to discredit vaccines by all means. This propaganda has created concern and a lack of confidence in vaccination.
“The government reacted very late and wasted between four and six months in setting up the vaccination plan.” “
Oleg Saakian, political science researcherto franceinfo
It should also be noted that the first vaccine available in Ukraine was Astra Zeneca’s Covishield, produced in India, and its non-certification for international travel created deep unease among the population, persuaded to receive a poor quality vaccine. Just a week ago, the vaccination centers
were still very empty, in recent days a few more people are going there, but probably not enough to avoid the disaster.
In Bulgaria, the adoption of the health pass causes tensions
The situation is critical. There are an average of 4000 new patients per day, which is considerable for a small country like Bulgaria (just under 7 million inhabitants). Mortality also remains very high, with 177 deaths per million inhabitants. The vast majority of patients are not vaccinated. Less than a quarter of the population has received a vaccine. In all, there are nearly 570,000 cases listed since the start of the pandemic. This represents less than 10% of the Bulgarian population.
There was a rush for vaccination centers after the announcement of the health pass at the end of last week. The new restrictions also come into force from Monday, October 25. But for now, mistrust of vaccines and especially of the authorities and the government remains very strong. Even doctors and nurses on the front lines refuse to be vaccinated. In the morning, there are long lines in front of some hospitals while all staff get tested so they can get to work. In the meantime, schools have been closed and students are now on distance education in eight oblasts. [ zone] of the country, including the capital region Sofia. Hospitals are also overwhelmed. There are very few places left either in intensive care or in Covid units.
The health crisis is also part of the electoral campaign while the presidential election and the 3rd legislative elections will be held in November this year. It is now one of the big stakes in the legislative elections. The parties of the right, the left, the far right and the anti-system parties began to criticize the adoption of the health pass, a measure far too strict for them. Far-right parties openly oppose vaccination. An activist even attacked the Minister of Education after the adoption of the health pass.