Ukraine will receive 5 times less vaccine than needed to save it from coronavirus
With a minimum requirement of 40 million doses of coronavirus vaccine, Ukraine can count on only 8 million doses through the international COVAX initiative, which is being implemented in collaboration with governments and manufacturers to provide COVID-19 vaccines to both high- and low-income countries .
Vice Speaker of the Parliament Elena Kondratyuk stated this at a meeting of the Conciliation Council of faction leaders and chairmen of committees of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“In fact, the only thing Ukraine can now count on is the delivery of a small amount of coronavirus vaccine in the first half of 2021 as part of the global COVAX initiative. This is about 8 million doses of the vaccine, which is enough for only 4 million of the population of Ukraine.
At the same time, according to WHO, 20 million people from all risk groups require vaccination. This means we need 40 million doses of vaccine. The existing agreements today are not enough to cover Ukraine’s needs, and the infrastructure is also not ready enough. Only now are they starting to figure out what we have with refrigeration units, first aid stations, etc.,” she said.
Yuriy Boyko, head of the political force “Opposition Bloc” and its parliamentary faction, drew attention to the fact that the budget does not provide funds for free vaccination of the population.
“Our position is absolutely clear: the vaccine should be free. This money must be provided for in the budget. But there is no money provided for this in the budget. This must be fixed quickly,” he demanded.
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