EU can help Ukraine with coronavirus vaccines: Details

High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy / Vice-President of the European Commission Josep Borrell says that ways of providing Ukraine with vaccines against COVID-19 through the EU member states are being considered.

He announced this at a joint press conference with European Union Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Oliver Várhelyi and Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal after an EU-Ukraine Association Council meeting on February 11, according to an UNIAN correspondent.

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Borrell pointed out to the EU's solidarity with the Ukrainian people during the coronavirus pandemic. "And we are already helping Ukraine gain access to vaccines through COVAX and are exploring ways to further support Ukraine through a vaccine sharing mechanism at the European Union level," he said.

His words were confirmed by Commissioner Várhelyi. "We are looking also at other ways how to help Ukraine in obtaining further vaccines through the vaccine-sharing mechanism we are establishing together with our Member States," he said.

COVID-19 vaccine for Ukraine

• Ukraine plans to launch a COVID-19 vaccination campaign in the middle of February 2021. The first stage is expected to take about 20 days when healthcare workers who have contacts with COVID-19 patients will get vaccinated.
• On December 30, 2020, Ukraine signed a contract for the supply of 1.9 million doses of China's Sinovac vaccine.
• On January 30, 2021, Ukrainian Deputy Health Minister, Chief Medical Officer Viktor Liashko said Ukraine would receive 117,000 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine within the COVAX (the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access Facility) in February.
• From the middle of February to the end of June 2021, Ukraine will obtain 2.2 million to 3.7 million doses of an AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine.
• On February 5, Health Minister Stepanov said shipments of 12 million doses of vaccines produced by AstraZeneca and Novavax to Ukraine had been confirmed.
• In December 2020, the Health Ministry's coronavirus task force approved a COVID-19 immunization plan under which at least 50% of Ukrainians (20 million people) are to be vaccinated during 2021-2022.