Zelensky: COVID-19 vaccination in Ukraine to be free

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky believes that vaccination against the coronavirus in Ukraine should be free.

The president and Health Minister Maksym Stepanov discussed in detail this aspect of immunization, which is scheduled for February, the press service of the President's Office wrote on its wbsite on January 30.

Read alsoUkraine to receive 117,000 doses of Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine within COVAX in Feb"Vaccination against COVID-19 in Ukraine will be free. This is exactly the care and protection that the state must provide to the citizen during the pandemic, from which the whole world is suffering. I don't know how much the vaccine will cost in private hospitals, but for most Ukrainians, this prevention [of the virus] may strain the wallet. And the COVID-19 vaccine is not what the state should make money from," Zelensky said.

In turn, Stepanov noted that the vaccination plan envisaged the provision of services free of charge to everyone. Moreover, the most vulnerable categories of the population will be vaccinated first.

"Soon we'll present and explain in detail the plan on how to get the coronavirus vaccine. We'll be able to administer first [Covid-19] vaccines to doctors and mobile groups. Of course, the elderly are among the priority groups to be vaccinated. We are also actively and effectively working within the COVAX initiative. Given the capacity, that is how many people we can vaccinate within a month, we have an even distribution of public funds, which will be enough to cover all vaccination needs," Stepanov said.

At the same time, Zelensky spoke in support of market development so that Ukrainians who have funds could get COVID-19 vaccine on their own. Immunization will be voluntary. However, both the president and the health ministry believe that Ukrainian citizens, being health conscious and understanding the challenges, will adhere to the vaccination plan.

"We always have disputes about even already known vaccines. This time, it's about not only national programs, but about a global program to protect the population worldwide. Getting a coronavirus vaccine is not just to protect yourself and get rid of annoying masks. It's also a concern for the entire population, it's a contribution to the fact that we'll all return to normal life and restore world communications," the president said.

At the same time, Stepanov assured that the vaccines would be tested many times. So, Ukrainians will be offered high-quality vaccines that will be stored in appropriate conditions.

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