COVID-19 vaccination to kick off on Feb 15 – health minister

Ukrainian Health Minister Maksym Stepanov has said the vaccination against COVID-19 in the country will start on February 15.

"Nothing has changed, based on what we know about the supply of vaccines as of today – we are to start the vaccination approximately from February 15, i.e. it will be next Monday week," he told Ukraina 24 TV channel on February 3.

"If the date changes due to certain circumstances, relatively speaking, not February 15, but February 16, we will immediately inform. As soon as we receive the vaccine, we will immediately start the vaccination process, we will not waste time," Stepanov added.

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• 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.