Commercial COVID-19 vaccine may appear no earlier than summer – health minister

Commercial COVID-19 vaccine may appear in Ukraine no earlier than summer / REUTERS

Ukrainian Health Minister Maksym Stepanov says the ministry does not regulate shipments of a COVID-19 vaccine onto the commercial market, however, he expects it may become commercially available no earlier than summer.

"Communicating, in particular, with vaccine producers and knowing how countries impose curbs on the commercial market, restricting exports, it seems to me this will not happen earlier than summer," he said during a morning TV show Snidanok z 1+1 on February 2, 2021.

According to Stepanov, the price of a COVID vaccine will vary depending on a producer.

"The quotations we have received regarding vaccines started at US$7 per dose, and ended at over US$33," the minister added.

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• Ukraine expects to handle the first four stages of a coronavirus vaccination campaign by September. By that time, the Health Ministry plans to receive all the planned doses of vaccines.
• On January 29, the National Commission for technology-related and environmental safety and emergencies approved a schedule for vaccination against the coronavirus in Ukraine in 2021.
• First to get vaccinated will be healthcare workers, participants in the Joint Forces Operation in Donbas, the elderly, and seriously ill patients.
• On February 1, Ukrainian Deputy Health Minister for European Integration Ihor Ivashchenko said Ukraine would receive the first batch of COVID-19 vaccines in two weeks.
• On the same day, Ukrainian Deputy Health Minister, Chief Medical Officer Viktor Liashko said the ministry would launch a website for online registration for vaccination against COVID-19.