Mistrust and low vax rate put thousands in Ukraine hospitals

Medical specialists take care of a patient suffering from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a hospital in the town of Ovruch, Zhytomyr region, Ukraine November 10, 2021. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

OVRUCH, Ukraine (Reuters) - "As soon as I recover, I will have to be vaccinated," says Halyna, one of 75 COVID patients in a Ukrainian city hospital whose doctors are pushing the message that vaccination is the best way to keep local people out of the wards.

Mistrust in vaccines is widespread in Ukraine. Several years ago it led to an outbreak of measles and today it puts thousands in hospital with COVID.