Europe | Slavic sceptics

With just 15% fully jabbed, Bulgaria is giving away vaccine shots

Demand is so low that many doses are about to expire

|Sofia

ON THE MORNING of August 10th the head of public health for Sofia, Bulgaria’s capital, announced various restrictions on restaurants and entertainment venues to curb a surge of covid-19. A few hours later the national ministry of health said no such thing would happen, calling the announcement a bureaucratic mistake. Chaotic messaging is just one reason why Bulgaria has seen so much death during the pandemic, and is bracing for more.

This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Bottom of the heap”

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