Ukrainians protest against vaccination as COVID cases soar

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — More than a thousand people blocked several streets in the center of the Ukrainian capital Wednesday, protesting against COVID-19 vaccine certificates and state-imposed restrictions aimed at halting the spread of the coronavirus.

The protesters, mostly women and young people, didn’t wear masks and held up signs reading “Say No to COVID Passports”, “Say No to COVID Genocide” in front of the Ukrainian parliament building in Kyiv.

The rally comes in response to restrictions that require teachers, government employees and other workers to get fully vaccinated by Nov. 8 or have their salaries suspended.

Last week, Ukrainian authorities also started requiring proof of vaccination or negative COVID-19 test results for people boarding airplanes, trains and long-distance buses.

The measures come as Ukraine reports a record-high level of new infections and deaths from the coronavirus.

Authorities have mainly blamed the surge on widespread public reluctance to get vaccinated. Ukrainians can freely choose between the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Sinovac vaccines, but just about 17.1% of the 41-million population has been fully vaccinated, which is Europe’s second-lowest rate after Armenia.

“I don’t want to participate in an experiment on myself, but I am deprived of the right to choose,” said Tamara Ustinova, 35, a teacher from Mariupol. “The authorities force Ukrainians to get vaccinated, creating unbearable conditions, but the danger of genetic mutations is much greater than the harm from COVID.”

The police did not interfere with the rally, which was supported by ex-lawmaker Nadiya Savchenko who was detained at an airport a few weeks ago with a fake vaccination certificate.

“The authorities will only aggravate the situation further,” Savchenko...