Ukraine recorded a 50% increase Thursday in daily new COVID-19 infections, a day after authorities launched the country's vaccination campaign.

Health Minister Maxim Stepanov said 8,147 confirmed new infections were recorded over the past 24 hours, up from 5,424 a day earlier. He did not speculate on the cause of the spike, but said the country so far has not detected the presence of the more contagious British virus variant.

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In this photo released by Kyiv's City Hall Press Office a medic receives a dose of an AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine marketed under the name CoviShield, in a city hospital in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. Kyiv started a mass vaccination on Thursday after receiving 42,600 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine marketed under the name CoviShield, the first shipment of COVID-19 vaccine doses. The country of 40 million is one of the last in the region to begin inoculating its population. (Kyiv's City Hall Press Office via AP)

Ukraine recorded a 50% increase Thursday in daily new COVID-19 infections, a day after authorities launched the country's vaccination campaign.
A policeman checks temperatures of passengers riding a bus at the checkpoint near Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. Ukraine has recorded a 50% increase in the number of daily new coronavirus  infections, as the country takes the first steps in its vaccination campaign. Health Minister Maxim Stepanov said Thursday that 8,417 new infections were found over the past day, up from 5,424 a day earlier. (AP PhotoEvgeniy Maloletka)

Ukraine launched its vaccination campaign on Wednesday after receiving 500,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine that was manufactured in India.
A woman walks through an empty street in Ivano-Frankivsk, western Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. Ukraine has recorded a 50% increase in the number of daily new coronavirus infections, as the country takes the first steps in its vaccination campaign. Health Minister Maxim Stepanov said Thursday that 8,417 new infections were found over the past day, up from 5,424 a day earlier. (AP PhotoEvgeniy Maloletka)

Overall in the pandemic, Ukraine has recorded more than 1.3 million infections and 25,596 deaths.
A medical worker checks the temperature of a driver at the checkpoint near Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. Ukraine has recorded a 50% increase in the number of daily new coronavirus  infections, as the country takes the first steps in its vaccination campaign. Health Minister Maxim Stepanov said Thursday that 8,417 new infections were found over the past day, up from 5,424 a day earlier. (AP PhotoEvgeniy Maloletka)

Six of the hospital's doctors are ill with the virus and one doctor has died.
A Ukrainian national guard serviceman checks the temperature of a passenger at the checkpoint near Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. Ukraine has recorded a 50% increase in the number of daily new coronavirus  infections, as the country takes the first steps in its vaccination campaign. Health Minister Maxim Stepanov said Thursday that 8,417 new infections were found over the past day, up from 5,424 a day earlier. (AP PhotoEvgeniy Maloletka)

But opinion polls show that about 40% of Ukrainians refuse to get vaccinated.
A police block the road to check temperature of drivers at the checkpoint near Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. Ukraine has recorded a 50% increase in the number of daily new coronavirus  infections, as the country takes the first steps in its vaccination campaign. Health Minister Maxim Stepanov said Thursday that 8,417 new infections were found over the past day, up from 5,424 a day earlier. (AP PhotoEvgeniy Maloletka)

Mstyslav Chernov in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, contributed to this story.
In this photo released by Kyiv's City Hall Press Office a medic prepares to administer a dose of an AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine marketed under the name CoviShield, to a colleague in a city hospital in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. Kyiv started a mass vaccination on Thursday after receiving 42,600 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine marketed under the name CoviShield, the first shipment of COVID-19 vaccine doses. The country of 40 million is one of the last in the region to begin inoculating its population. (Kyiv's City Hall Press Office via AP)

In this photo released by Kyiv's City Hall Press Office a medic prepares to administer a dose of an AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine marketed under the name CoviShield, to a colleague in a city hospital in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. Kyiv started a mass vaccination on Thursday after receiving 42,600 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine marketed under the name CoviShield, the first shipment of COVID-19 vaccine doses. The country of 40 million is one of the last in the region to begin inoculating its population. (Kyiv's City Hall Press Office via AP)
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In this photo released by Kyiv's City Hall Press Office a medic receives a dose of an AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine marketed under the name CoviShield, in a city hospital in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. Kyiv started a mass vaccination on Thursday after receiving 42,600 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine marketed under the name CoviShield, the first shipment of COVID-19 vaccine doses. The country of 40 million is one of the last in the region to begin inoculating its population. (Kyiv's City Hall Press Office via AP)

Ukraine recorded a 50% increase Thursday in daily new COVID-19 infections, a day after authorities launched the country's vaccination campaign.

A policeman checks temperatures of passengers riding a bus at the checkpoint near Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. Ukraine has recorded a 50% increase in the number of daily new coronavirus  infections, as the country takes the first steps in its vaccination campaign. Health Minister Maxim Stepanov said Thursday that 8,417 new infections were found over the past day, up from 5,424 a day earlier. (AP PhotoEvgeniy Maloletka)

Ukraine launched its vaccination campaign on Wednesday after receiving 500,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine that was manufactured in India.

A woman walks through an empty street in Ivano-Frankivsk, western Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. Ukraine has recorded a 50% increase in the number of daily new coronavirus infections, as the country takes the first steps in its vaccination campaign. Health Minister Maxim Stepanov said Thursday that 8,417 new infections were found over the past day, up from 5,424 a day earlier. (AP PhotoEvgeniy Maloletka)

Overall in the pandemic, Ukraine has recorded more than 1.3 million infections and 25,596 deaths.

A medical worker checks the temperature of a driver at the checkpoint near Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. Ukraine has recorded a 50% increase in the number of daily new coronavirus  infections, as the country takes the first steps in its vaccination campaign. Health Minister Maxim Stepanov said Thursday that 8,417 new infections were found over the past day, up from 5,424 a day earlier. (AP PhotoEvgeniy Maloletka)

Six of the hospital's doctors are ill with the virus and one doctor has died.

A Ukrainian national guard serviceman checks the temperature of a passenger at the checkpoint near Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. Ukraine has recorded a 50% increase in the number of daily new coronavirus  infections, as the country takes the first steps in its vaccination campaign. Health Minister Maxim Stepanov said Thursday that 8,417 new infections were found over the past day, up from 5,424 a day earlier. (AP PhotoEvgeniy Maloletka)

But opinion polls show that about 40% of Ukrainians refuse to get vaccinated.

A police block the road to check temperature of drivers at the checkpoint near Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. Ukraine has recorded a 50% increase in the number of daily new coronavirus  infections, as the country takes the first steps in its vaccination campaign. Health Minister Maxim Stepanov said Thursday that 8,417 new infections were found over the past day, up from 5,424 a day earlier. (AP PhotoEvgeniy Maloletka)

Mstyslav Chernov in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, contributed to this story.

In this photo released by Kyiv's City Hall Press Office a medic prepares to administer a dose of an AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine marketed under the name CoviShield, to a colleague in a city hospital in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. Kyiv started a mass vaccination on Thursday after receiving 42,600 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine marketed under the name CoviShield, the first shipment of COVID-19 vaccine doses. The country of 40 million is one of the last in the region to begin inoculating its population. (Kyiv's City Hall Press Office via AP)

In this photo released by Kyiv's City Hall Press Office a medic prepares to administer a dose of an AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine marketed under the name CoviShield, to a colleague in a city hospital in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. Kyiv started a mass vaccination on Thursday after receiving 42,600 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine marketed under the name CoviShield, the first shipment of COVID-19 vaccine doses. The country of 40 million is one of the last in the region to begin inoculating its population. (Kyiv's City Hall Press Office via AP)

The surge is alarming for the country whose understaffed medical system is already struggling to treat COVID-19 patients, particularly in the hard-hit western regions where cases rose significantly after a two-week lockdown in January.

In this photo released by Kyiv's City Hall Press Office a medic receives a dose of an AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine marketed under the name CoviShield, in a city hospital in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. Kyiv started a mass vaccination on Thursday after receiving 42,600 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine marketed under the name CoviShield, the first shipment of COVID-19 vaccine doses. The country of 40 million is one of the last in the region to begin inoculating its population. (Kyiv's City Hall Press Office via AP)

In this photo released by Kyiv's City Hall Press Office a medic receives a dose of an AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine marketed under the name CoviShield, in a city hospital in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. Kyiv started a mass vaccination on Thursday after receiving 42,600 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine marketed under the name CoviShield, the first shipment of COVID-19 vaccine doses. The country of 40 million is one of the last in the region to begin inoculating its population. (Kyiv's City Hall Press Office via AP)

Ukraine launched its vaccination campaign on Wednesday after receiving 500,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine that was manufactured in India.

Ukraine expects to receive more doses of vaccine through the UN-supported COVAX distribution program, including those produced by Pfizer-BioNTech and Novavax. The country also signed an agreement to purchase 1.9 million doses from China’s Sinovac Biotech.

Ukraine plans to vaccinate 14.4 million people this year, or about 35% of its 41 million people.

A policeman checks temperatures of passengers riding a bus at the checkpoint near Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. Ukraine has recorded a 50% increase in the number of daily new coronavirus  infections, as the country takes the first steps in its vaccination campaign. Health Minister Maxim Stepanov said Thursday that 8,417 new infections were found over the past day, up from 5,424 a day earlier. (AP PhotoEvgeniy Maloletka)

A policeman checks temperatures of passengers riding a bus at the checkpoint near Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. Ukraine has recorded a 50% increase in the number of daily new coronavirus  infections, as the country takes the first steps in its vaccination campaign. Health Minister Maxim Stepanov said Thursday that 8,417 new infections were found over the past day, up from 5,424 a day earlier. (AP PhotoEvgeniy Maloletka)

Overall in the pandemic, Ukraine has recorded more than 1.3 million infections and 25,596 deaths.

The number of deaths from coronavirus in the regional hospital in the city of Ivano-Frankivsk, 430 kilometers (270 miles) southwest of the capital, Kyiv, has doubled over the past two weeks, the head of the pathological department of the hospital Volodymyr Vasylyk told The Associated Press.

In the past 24 hours alone, 10 people died from COVID-19 in the hospital, compared with five or six a day two weeks ago.

A woman walks through an empty street in Ivano-Frankivsk, western Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. Ukraine has recorded a 50% increase in the number of daily new coronavirus infections, as the country takes the first steps in its vaccination campaign. Health Minister Maxim Stepanov said Thursday that 8,417 new infections were found over the past day, up from 5,424 a day earlier. (AP PhotoEvgeniy Maloletka)

A woman walks through an empty street in Ivano-Frankivsk, western Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. Ukraine has recorded a 50% increase in the number of daily new coronavirus infections, as the country takes the first steps in its vaccination campaign. Health Minister Maxim Stepanov said Thursday that 8,417 new infections were found over the past day, up from 5,424 a day earlier. (AP PhotoEvgeniy Maloletka)

Six of the hospital's doctors are ill with the virus and one doctor has died.

"The situation is quite tense,” said Vasylyk.

“I hope that vaccination will bring down the surge in morbidity and mortality,” added Vasilyk.

A medical worker checks the temperature of a driver at the checkpoint near Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. Ukraine has recorded a 50% increase in the number of daily new coronavirus  infections, as the country takes the first steps in its vaccination campaign. Health Minister Maxim Stepanov said Thursday that 8,417 new infections were found over the past day, up from 5,424 a day earlier. (AP PhotoEvgeniy Maloletka)

A medical worker checks the temperature of a driver at the checkpoint near Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. Ukraine has recorded a 50% increase in the number of daily new coronavirus  infections, as the country takes the first steps in its vaccination campaign. Health Minister Maxim Stepanov said Thursday that 8,417 new infections were found over the past day, up from 5,424 a day earlier. (AP PhotoEvgeniy Maloletka)

But opinion polls show that about 40% of Ukrainians refuse to get vaccinated.

“Even many employees of our hospital are afraid of being vaccinated, but we are carrying out explanatory work,” said Serhiy Tsyntar, head physician of the regional hospital in the city of Chernivtsi, 400 kilometers (250 miles) southwest of Kyiv. “Only 30% of the staff want to be vaccinated.”

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A Ukrainian national guard serviceman checks the temperature of a passenger at the checkpoint near Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. Ukraine has recorded a 50% increase in the number of daily new coronavirus  infections, as the country takes the first steps in its vaccination campaign. Health Minister Maxim Stepanov said Thursday that 8,417 new infections were found over the past day, up from 5,424 a day earlier. (AP PhotoEvgeniy Maloletka)

A Ukrainian national guard serviceman checks the temperature of a passenger at the checkpoint near Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. Ukraine has recorded a 50% increase in the number of daily new coronavirus  infections, as the country takes the first steps in its vaccination campaign. Health Minister Maxim Stepanov said Thursday that 8,417 new infections were found over the past day, up from 5,424 a day earlier. (AP PhotoEvgeniy Maloletka)

Mstyslav Chernov in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, contributed to this story.

Follow all of AP’s pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic, https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak

A police block the road to check temperature of drivers at the checkpoint near Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. Ukraine has recorded a 50% increase in the number of daily new coronavirus  infections, as the country takes the first steps in its vaccination campaign. Health Minister Maxim Stepanov said Thursday that 8,417 new infections were found over the past day, up from 5,424 a day earlier. (AP PhotoEvgeniy Maloletka)

A police block the road to check temperature of drivers at the checkpoint near Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. Ukraine has recorded a 50% increase in the number of daily new coronavirus  infections, as the country takes the first steps in its vaccination campaign. Health Minister Maxim Stepanov said Thursday that 8,417 new infections were found over the past day, up from 5,424 a day earlier. (AP PhotoEvgeniy Maloletka)

 In this photo released by Kyiv's City Hall Press Office a medic prepares to administer a dose of an AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine marketed under the name CoviShield, to a colleague in a city hospital in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. Kyiv started a mass vaccination on Thursday after receiving 42,600 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine marketed under the name CoviShield, the first shipment of COVID-19 vaccine doses. The country of 40 million is one of the last in the region to begin inoculating its population. (Kyiv's City Hall Press Office via AP)

In this photo released by Kyiv's City Hall Press Office a medic prepares to administer a dose of an AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine marketed under the name CoviShield, to a colleague in a city hospital in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. Kyiv started a mass vaccination on Thursday after receiving 42,600 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine marketed under the name CoviShield, the first shipment of COVID-19 vaccine doses. The country of 40 million is one of the last in the region to begin inoculating its population. (Kyiv's City Hall Press Office via AP)