Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna says several European countries have agreed to sell part of their surplus COVID-19 vaccines to Ukraine.
The official said the government was completing consultations on the redistribution of part of the EU's surplus vaccines.
"There are several EU countries, one of them is very friendly towards us, which have agreed to sell some of the vaccines as part of [their] surpluses. Ukraine is buying them. But I would also like to thank more EU countries that, without having such surpluses, have still promoted Ukraine's interests, the need to ensure Ukraine's access to vaccines," she told Ukraine's TSN TV news service in an interview.
Stefanishyna stressed over 13 EU countries had backed Ukraine in this issue.
"This is a great sign of solidarity. I am sure this joint work has yielded results," she added.
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- On December 30, Ukraine signed a contract with China's Sinovac for the supply of 1.9 million doses of a coronavirus 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.
- First to get vaccinated will be healthcare workers, the elderly, and seriously ill patients.
- 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.
- 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.
