In Ukrainian kindergartens, almost 85% of employees received vaccinations against COVID-19 coronavirus infection, Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine Serhiy Shkarlet said.
“According to operational information from the regions, at least one dose of vaccination against COVID-19 has already been received: about 85% of kindergarten workers; almost 92% of employees of specialized educational institutions. […] almost 76% of workers in specialized institutions and almost 62% of kindergarten teachers have already been vaccinated with two doses,” Shkarlet wrote on the telegram channel on Saturday.
The highest rates of vaccination of kindergarten employees were noted in Ternopil region – 97.7%, Kharkiv region – 95.2%, and in Donetsk region – 92.9% of vaccinated.
The most vaccinated employees of specialized institutions are in Kherson region – 99.2%, Zaporizhia – 97.8%, and Cherkasy region – 97.3% of the vaccinated.
The 80% vaccination threshold for kindergarten staff has not yet been reached in eight regions. Employees of specialized institutions are vaccinated for more than 80% in all regions of the country.
Ukraine and Switzerland have agreed on mutual recognition of COVID-19 vaccination certificates, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said.
“I am also pleased to announce that we have agreed to recognize COVID-19 vaccination certificates for free and safe travel of citizens and businesses,” Kuleba said at a press conference following talks with Federal Adviser, Vice President and Chairman of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of the Swiss Confederation Ignazio Cassis in Kyiv on Thursday.
“The exchange of notes has already taken place, and I invite all citizens to the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs tripadvisor.mfa.gov.ua, where you will see updated information on the conditions of travel to Switzerland,” the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry added.
The Ukrainian Foreign Minister stressed that the mutual recognition of certificates is a very important step. “First of all, this is a step of trust that exists between our countries,” Kuleba added.
For the oxygen needs of patients with COVID-19, some 35 oxygen producers have been involved, including 23 medical and 12 technical oxygen producers, Minister of Health of Ukraine Viktor Liashko has said.
“Today, not a single patient, not a single hospital in the country is left without oxygen. Yes, in certain hospitals and regions there is increased demand for oxygen, but it is controlled and issues are resolved promptly and in a team,” he said at a briefing on Thursday.
Liashko said that Ukraine is currently at its maximum values in terms of the daily number of new cases, hospitalizations and deaths. Thus, 47,380 patients with a diagnosis of COVID-19 were hospitalized.
Currently, 480 hospitals provide medical care to patients with COVID-19, they have more than 70,000 beds for patients with COVID-19, of which more than 66,000 are with oxygen. Patients with COVID-19 or with suspected disease occupy 67% beds.
At the same time, Liashko noted that the actual occupancy of beds with oxygen by patients in need of oxygen therapy is 50%. “The situation is uneven, and 46 out of 480 hospitals [about 10%] have oxygen beds already 100% occupied, and 193 [about 40% of hospitals] have the oxygen bed occupancy at 75%. The remaining 60% of clinics are without critical load,” he said.
About 30% of adult Ukrainians have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, Health Minister Viktor Liashko has said.
“A record daily number of 291,293 COVID-19 vaccine shots have been administered in Ukraine today. Owing to this, we have reached the figure of 30% of the adult population who have been vaccinated with at least one dose,” Liashko said at a press briefing on Wednesday.
Ukraine is using COVID-19 vaccines approved by the World Health Organization (WHO), and over 9 million vaccine doses are currently available at vaccination stations across the country, he said.
“We have vaccine supplies planned week by week for the period up to the end of the year. These include both vaccines procured using state budget funds and those shipped to the country owing to its participation in the global COVAX mechanism,” he said.
In line with the contracts concluded for the vaccine, Ukraine should receive another 13.4 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine marketed under the tradename of Comirnaty by the end of 2021. Additionally, the shipment of 5.45 million vaccine doses under the COVAX program in 2021 has also been confirmed, he said.
“Thus, the overall number of vaccine doses Ukraine is expected to receive by the end of 2021 is 18.85 million,” Liashko said.
Almost 88.2% of Ukrainian teachers have already received one dose of the vaccine against the COVID-19 coronavirus infection, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine said.
“As of today, October 25, 2021, at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccination was received by 88.2% of employees of general secondary education institutions, almost 400,000 teachers across the country were vaccinated with two doses,” the Ministry of Education said.
It is reported, that the highest level of vaccination is demonstrated by: Mykolaiv region – 98%, Kyiv region – 95.5%, Kharkiv region – 94.6%, Donetsk region – 92.7%, Khmelnytsky region – 91.6% (full and incomplete vaccination cycle). At the same time, the vaccination threshold of 80% of school workers has not been reached only in Rivne region.
The ministry reports that 8,000 schools are on vacation since October 25. In the regions caught in “red” zones of epidemic danger, there are schools on vacation or distance learning that have not reached the vaccination rate of 100%. In Odesa region there are 149 schools, in Donetsk region – 93, in Zaporizhia region – 47.
The Ministry of Health of Ukraine in October expanded the network of medical facilities to provide medical care to patients with COVID-19 to 422.
“As of yesterday, the network of medical institutions for providing medical care to patients with COVID-19 has been expanded to 422 medical institutions,” deputy head of the National Health Service of Ukraine (NHSU) Anna Fenchak said at a press conference in Kyiv on Wednesday.
She said that by the end of October, the NHSU will conclude contracts with all the medical institutions that will meet the requirements of the National Service, in particular, regarding the provision of oxygen and the availability of the required number of doctors.
“The NHSU concludes contracts with all medical institutions that meet the requirements. They will be signed by the end of October, payment for actually rendered medical services will be made in early November,” Fenchak said.
