Ukraine has again changed the COVID-19 vaccination start date.
The country expects vaccination to start at the end of this week or the beginning of next week, Health Minister Maksym Stepanov said during an online webinar with the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council on Feb. 16.
Earlier, the vaccination was expected to start on Feb. 15. However, the country has again postponed it due to “logistical and bureaucratic issues,” according to Stepanov.
Ukraine is to receive 117,000 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine this month, followed by up to 3.7 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine within six months. Medical workers who treat COVID-19 and front-line troops in eastern Ukraine will be the first in line for a free vaccination.
A single person must receive two doses to be effectively vaccinated. Stepanov says Ukraine can vaccinate up to 7-8 million people a month.
“As soon as we have possibilities and access to the vaccine, in sufficient quantities, we will be able to maximize the number of vaccinations to carry out this campaign as soon as possible,” Stepanov says.
Read also: Everything to know about COVID vaccination in Ukraine
According to Stepanov, Ukraine has five stages of COVID-19 vaccination. Doctors who treat COVID-19 patients will get the first shots. At the same time, the vaccine will go to soldiers in the Donbas, social workers and residents of homes for the elderly.
The last, fifth stage includes people between the ages of 18 and 59, who have no medical conditions. Stepanov says they expect Ukraine to start the fifth stage of vaccination at the end of the third or the beginning of the fourth quarter of the year.
“But it will depend on the schedule of vaccine deliveries,” Stepanov says.
Another problem, according to Stepanov, is the low number of people willing to be vaccinated. According to a survey by the Rating sociological group, 52% of Ukrainians would not take the coronavirus vaccine, even if it was free.
Stepanov says the Ministry would have wanted the proportion of willing Ukrainians to be no less than 60%.
Stepanov goes on to say that Ukraine can introduce so-called vaccine passports to resume international travel.
“I think Ukraine will join all these initiatives (on vaccine passports) to avoid create additional problems for our citizens,” Stepanov said during the webinar.
However, according to him, the Ministry is still discussing whether Ukraine needs to introduce vaccine passports for domestic travel and other purposes.
Earlier in January, Deputy Health Minister Viktor Lyashko commented on the introduction of vaccination passports, saying that vaccinated citizens will be registered in an electronic database and then later issued with a certificate of vaccination from a doctor once vaccination passports are introduced on an international level.
Stepanov’s speech comes after the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) earlier in February opened an investigation into alleged embezzlement committed by health ministry officials during the procurement of COVID-19 vaccine.
Stepanov denies the accusation. Earlier today he lashed out at the NABU, accusing it of trying to disrupt the COVID-19 vaccination that is about to begin in Ukraine.
Read more: Health Minister Stepanov accuses NABU of disrupting COVID-19 vaccination
