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The immunization plan for Ukrainian citizens will change, depending on the situation with the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus infection and the availability of the vaccine, he said. Director General of the Center for Public Health under the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, Igor Kuzin.
On December 22, the operational headquarters of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine approved a vaccination plan for the country’s citizens against COVID-19 coronavirus infection, reported the Public Health Center under the Ministry of Health.
As told by acting. Director General of the CPH Igor Kuzin, the objective of the plan is to cover 50% of the population (20 million) with vaccines during 2021-2022.
“The document will be flexible, it will be updated depending on the situation with COVID-19, on updated data on vaccines, on the availability of the vaccine itself,” Kuzin said. Vaccination will be voluntary for all population groups, he emphasized.
The plan approved by the Ministry of Health is designed in four stages:
- January – April 2021: People at high risk of infection and development of COVID-19 and who play critical roles in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic;
- April – June 2021: people at extremely high risk of infection and development of COVID-19 and who provide medical services;
- June – September 2021: people at high risk of infection and development of COVID-19 and those who perform the functions of maintaining the safety and life of the state;
- September 2021 – March 2022: people at increased risk of infection and development of COVID-19 and those who perform functions of maintaining the safety and life of the state.
“The first priority will be the vaccination of doctors, especially those who work in hospitals where they are being treated for COVID-19. Vaccines will also be available for Ukrainians from uncontrolled territory; the corresponding procedure will be approved by a separate plan,” Kuzin said.
When it is planned to vaccinate the rest of the population, the CPH did not specify.
An outbreak of coronavirus infection began in late 2019 in China. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the spread of the coronavirus a pandemic. Since the beginning of the epidemic, 931,751 cases of coronavirus infection have been recorded in Ukraine, 15,996 patients with COVID-19 have died, 548,356 people have recovered.
By data WHO, as of Dec 17, 56 COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers worldwide are candidates for clinical evaluation of the drug. Preclinical tests are carried out by 166 companies. The American company Moderna announced that the effectiveness of its vaccine against COVID-19 amounted to 94.1%and against a severe form of coronavirus infection: 100%. Results of the vaccine trials of the American company Pfizer and the German BioNTech demonstrated its 95% effectiveness.
The Deputy Minister of Health, the country’s chief sanitary physician, Viktor Lyashko, said that Ukraine, within the framework of the global COVAX initiative, expects to receive 8 million doses of vaccine for free, they will be enough for vaccination. 4 million people (one person is vaccinated twice). Ukraine expects the first 5% dose under the COVAX program in early 2021.
According to Ukraine’s Health Minister Maxim Stepanov, the Health Ministry is also negotiating the purchase of the vaccine with three US companies and one Chinese company. The minister asked the US Charge d’Affaires in Kiev, Christina Queen, that the US consider Ukraine a priority candidate for vaccines in testing and emergency use. As part of this initiative, Kiev expects to receive 6 million doses of the vaccine, he noted.
Vaccines for COVID-19 will also go on sale, Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denis Shmygal said, without specifying when.
Kuzin said they plan to start vaccination in Ukraine on March 1, 2021. According to Stepanov, the ministry’s goal is for vaccination to start “at least since February “.
The Ministry of Health has identified nine priority groups of the population that will receive vaccination in the first place, we are talking about 20 million citizens, said Stepanov. These are medical, military, social and nursing workers, people over the age of 60, education workers, public security officials, penal and penitentiary institutions, and people with chronic diseases, regardless of their age.
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