Anybody who has signed up to the COVID-19 vaccination waiting list on the “Diia” app can get their first dose this weekend at the International Exhibition Center (IEC) next to the Livoberezhna metro station in Kyiv.
This will be the second weekend of vaccinations at the IEC. The vaccination hub at the center was announced by Kyiv mayor Vitaly Klitschko on May 28 and started operating the following day. During the weekend of May 29-30, over 3,500 people were vaccinated at the site.
Vaccine centers also opened in Lviv and Odesa.
Mykola Povoroznyk, deputy head of the Kyiv City State Administration, announced on Facebook that the center will be open between 10:00 and 17:30 on Saturday, June 5 and Sunday, June 6.
He stated that the number of vaccine stations will be increased from 16 to 24; these will be split into stations for inoculating people in priority categories who have received an invitation and stations for people who have registered on the Diia waiting list.
Povoroznyk also specified that Kyivans should bring their passport, identification code, mobile phone and a confirmation of registration with Diia, and optionally a copy of their declaration with their physician, if one has been signed.
The center will administer the CoronaVac vaccine, which is made by Chinese manufacturer SinoVac. The Kyiv city authorities received 20,640 doses on May 25, Klitschko said.
Anyone can sign up for the vaccine waiting list on Diia, provided they are registered with a family doctor. This can be done by citizens of Ukraine, as well as foreigners with permanent or temporary residency permits.
People working in healthcare, education and social work, all military and law enforcement personnel, as well as retirement home residents will be prioritized and don’t need to sign up for the waiting list.
Paul Niland, an Irish citizen who lives in Ukraine, was able to get vaccinated on April 28th.
“I signed the contract on the Friday before last, saw my doctor for the first time last Tuesday, asked to be put on the standby list for unused doses, when someone is allocated a shot but stupidly refuses,” Niland told the Kyiv Post at the time.
Yesterday, Ukraine administered 46,868 doses, the fourth-highest daily total since the beginning of the campaign. Of these, 67.1% were Pfizer shots and 32.9% were SinoVac. Use of the Chinese vaccine will likely increase in the next two days, as it is the only variety available at the weekend-only vaccination hub in Kyiv.
So far, over 1.2 million doses of CoronaVac have been delivered to Ukraine, more than any other vaccine. The shipment arrived in three batches: 200,000 doses on April 10 and two batches of 500,000 doses on May 18 and 27.
Ukraine is expecting 700,000 more doses of the Chinese vaccine.
The latest scientific data cited by the World Health Organisation found that the CoronaVac shot has a 51% efficacy rate against COVID-19 infection, but prevents severe symptoms and hospitalization in 100% of cases.
