Ukraine will receive millions of doses of American-made Pfizer and Moderna vaccines against coronavirus in July, according to the Ministry of Health.
Two million doses of the Moderna vaccine are scheduled to arrive in Ukraine this month, the first-ever supply of this brand to the country. Moderna’s efficacy is 94.1%.
According to Health Minister Viktor Lyashko, the U.S. approached him with an offer to ship the Moderna vaccines to Ukraine, following negotiations between U.S. President Joe Biden and President Volodymyr Zelensky. The two had a phone call on June 7.
Ukraine will receive this batch as part of the COVAX initiative, the international vaccine alliance, which has allocated 16 million doses to cover 8 million Ukrainians. COVAX has already supplied Ukraine with 2.1 million doses, half of which are made by Pfizer and half by AstraZeneca.
Another batch of Pfizer vaccines, whose efficacy is 95%, will arrive in the country at the end of July, according to Ihor Kuzin, Chief Sanitary Doctor. In early April, Ukraine signed a contract to buy 10 million doses from Pfizer.
According to Kuzin, Pfizer shots will be available to everyone including children with pre-existing conditions who have higher chances to contract the virus.
Previously, the Pfizer vaccine was only available for lawmakers, people working in educational institutions, social workers and residents of the houses for the elderly, as well as employees of State Emergency and State Border Guard Services.
Ukraine has already vaccinated with one dose over 2 million people out of its 42 million population. 766,483 persons have completed vaccination having received two shots.
