Ukraine to receive 117,000 doses of Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine within COVAX in Feb

Ukrainian Deputy Health Minister, Chief Medical Officer Viktor Liashko has said Ukraine will receive 117,000 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine within the COVAX (the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access Facility) in February.

Read alsoCOVID-19: Almost 4,700 new active cases reported as of Jan 30"As early as in February, Ukraine will receive 117,000 doses of the U.S.-made Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 mRNA vaccine, which will be immediately distributed to hospitals for vaccination of health workers who provide care to COVID-19 patients," he wrote on Facebook on January 30.

"In parallel, during the first half of the year, starting in February, we'll be able to receive 2.2 million to 3.7 million doses of AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine for the next stages of the campaign. And this is only within the COVAX Facility," he added said.

Liashko noted that Ukraine was among the first countries to apply for the vaccines in the first wave of their distribution.

"The result obtained inspires and gives confidence that our efforts were not in vain, that in the context of the global crisis, mankind is able to mobilize and show real solidarity, without political games and populism. This step gives hope for the health of everyone worldwide," he said.

COVID-19 vaccine for Ukraine

• In February-March 2021, Ukraine expects the delivery of a vaccine against COVID-19.
• The first batch of a vaccine via the COVAX Facility will include 8 million doses, which will be enough to vaccinate 4 million people (two shots per person required). First to get vaccinated will be healthcare workers, the elderly, and seriously ill patients.
• On December 24, 2020, Health Minister Stepanov said that his ministry was working out a plan to increase the COVAX vaccine quota from 8 million to 16 million doses.
• On December 30, Ukraine signed a contract with China's Sinovac for the supply of 1.9 million doses of a coronavirus vaccine.
• According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 170 experimental vaccines are currently at the stage of preclinical trials, 65 are undergoing clinical trials, of which 15 are at the third, last stage.