Bulgaria sees record COVID-19 deaths amid low vaccinations

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Bulgaria had 334 COVID-19 patients die in a single day, the country’s highest daily toll since the start of the pandemic. Bulgarian health authorities on Tuesday also reported 5,286 newly confirmed cases of coronavirus over the past 24 hours. The country has 8,516 COVID-19 patients who are hospitalized, 723 of them in intensive care. The Balkan country of 7 million remains the least vaccinated in the 27-nation European Union, with less than one-third of its adults fully vaccinated.  Despite rising virus-related deaths, many Bulgarians remain skeptical of vaccines, due to unfounded fears of potential health damage, superstitions or conspiracy theories.