Vaccination against COVID-19 in Ukraine's Army to kick off in late Feb

The vaccination against COVID-19 in the Armed Forces of Ukraine will start in late February.

"During the first stage of vaccination in the Armed Forces, military personnel deterring Russia's armed aggression in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as persons who are to be rotated soon, servicemen participating in international peace and security operations, and medical personnel will be vaccinated," Commander of the Medical Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Colonel Serhiy Khalik told the ArmyInform news agency.

The vaccination against COVID-19 must be carried out with the consent of the person by special teams that have already passed the relevant certification.

COVID-19 in Armed Forces

The number of COVID-19 coronavirus cases registered in the Armed Forces of Ukraine rose by 51 as of the morning of February 6. Of those newly-infected, 14 people have been hospitalized, the press service of the Medical Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine wrote on Facebook on Saturday.

Read alsoCOVID-19: Over 4,300 new active cases reported as of Feb 6As of 10:00 Kyiv time on February 6, some 664 people in the Armed Forces of Ukraine had acute respiratory illness COVID-19 caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. Some 62 servicemen are now isolated (including self-isolation).

COVID-19 vaccination in Ukraine

• 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.
• On February 4, Ukrainian Health Minister Maksym Stepanov said the vaccination against COVID-19 in the country would start on February 15.