Ukraine started administering the CoronaVac vaccine, produced by China’s Sinovac Biotech, on April 13, according to the Ministry of Health.
The Chinese vaccine arrived in Ukraine on March 25 and went through laboratory testing and approval before being distributed throughout the regions. The country currently has 215,000 doses, reserved for people with disabilities and their care providers, Olympians and Paralympians, police officers, and teachers conducting general assessment tests.
The CoronaVac shipment was Ukraine’s second batch of COVID-19 vaccine. On Feb. 23, the country received 500,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine produced by Serum Institute in India.
Ukraine launched its vaccination campaign on Feb. 24. So far, 388,399 Ukrainians received their first AstraZeneca dose as of April. 12. Only five got both shots required to complete the vaccination. The interval between the two shots of AstraZeneca vaccine is 12 weeks or 84 days.
CoronaVac has a significantly shorter interval: from 14 to 28 days. Ukrainians receiving this vaccine will get their second shots 28 days after the first, according to Viktor Lyashko, the deputy Health Minister and Chief Sanitary Doctor.
CoronaVac’s efficacy is 50.4% if the doses are received 14 days apart. However, in January, the producers suggested that it could be 70% effective with a three-week interval between doses.
In total, Ukraine expects to receive close to 2 million doses of CoronaVac.
The country is also waiting for 8 million free doses from COVAX, the global coronavirus vaccine alliance.
COVAX will first provide Ukraine with 117,000 doses of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, co-produced in the U.S. and Germany, and from 2.2 to 3.7 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine, made in the U.K. The first batch is expected in April.
The first phase of the vaccination drive, which began on Feb. 24, targeted the 367,000 people in the highest priority group, including doctors who treat COVID‑19 patients and soldiers on the Donbas front line.
On March 22, almost a month since the start of vaccination campaign, Ukraine moved into its second phase, giving shots to family doctors, other medical workers, social workers and people over 80, in addition to all members of the first phase group.
