Ukraine is set to provide the opportunity to be vaccinated against coronavirus (COVID-19) to 70% of its adult population by the end of 2021, Ukrainian Health Minister Maksym Stepanov said.
“In order to achieve herd immunity, 60% of the adult population must be vaccinated. We would like to increase that level to 70%. At least, to give them the opportunity to be vaccinated,” Stepanov said at a press briefing in Kyiv on Tuesday.
The healthcare system is capable of administering that many shots, he said.
“Ukraine has 11,500 vaccination stations, and each station is capable of administering about 40-50 shots per day. That means the country can administer up to 450,000-500,000 shots per day. Surely, we are not using every available vaccination station just yet. The number of shots we are hoping to administer ranges from five million to seven million per month. That would be enough,” Stepanov said.
Ukraine has signed contracts for the delivery of 22 million doses of vaccines, and contracts for another 15 million doses will be concluded shortly, he said.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has signed a decree on vaccination of the population against coronavirus, providing for the creation of a National Vaccination Plan against COVID-19, according to which the majority of the adult population of Ukraine should receive their vaccinations by the end of this year.
Corresponding document No. 139/2021 “On the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine dated April 2, 2021” On the National Plan for Vaccine Preventive Treatment of Acute Respiratory Disease COVID-19 Caused by the SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus, Until the End of 2021 “was announced on the President’s website on Sunday.
According to the decision of the NSDC, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine within seven days must ensure the development and approval of the National Vaccination Plan against COVID-19, taking into account the best international experience, the press service of the head of state reported.
“In particular, the minimum required monthly number of vaccinations should be established, the sources and timing of the supply of vaccines for the prevention of coronavirus disease, the persons responsible for the implementation of the plan, the ultimate goal of which is to cover the majority of the adult population of Ukraine with vaccinations no later than December 2021 for the formation of herd immunity to the coronavirus,” the President’s Office reported.
They note that the government should intensify negotiations with manufacturers of vaccines against COVID-19, as well as attract international technical assistance for the implementation of the vaccination campaign in Ukraine.
“The Ministry of Health should take urgent and effective measures to supply to Ukraine as soon as possible the required amount of vaccines for the specific prevention of coronavirus disease and ensure public access to vaccination; ensure effective awareness-raising on vaccination,” the message says.
The President’s Office also emphasizes that the decision provides that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should take urgent measures aimed at increasing the efficiency of cooperation with foreign states and international organizations on the supply of vaccines against COVID-19 to Ukraine.
The decree on the entry into force of the NSDC decision comes into force from the day of its publication.
As reported, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov said that in the near future, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky will sign a decree on the vaccination of the population of Ukraine.
As of March 25, about 350,000 people have enrolled for the waiting list for vaccination against coronavirus (COVID-19) disease, according to the website of the Public Health Center.
One can enroll for the vaccination waiting list from March 1 through the Diia portal or mobile application, as well as through the call center of the Ministry of Health.
The center notes that a person does not need to enroll for a waiting list if the person is:
– an employee of the healthcare, education or social sphere, working or staying in boarding schools, nursing homes, etc.;
– soldier;
– an employee of critical structures of state security.
In this case, the employer or the head of the institution will inform a person about the possibility of getting vaccinated.
The second stage of the vaccination campaign will start in Ukraine on March 22, Health Minister Maksym Stepanov said during a press briefing in Kyiv on Monday.
“On March 22, the second stage of vaccination starts in Ukraine. In addition to mobile teams, 565 vaccination units are added. At the second stage, vaccination of people with an extremely high risk of infection – family doctors is to start. With the arrival of new vaccines, vaccination of social workers, public health workers and people over 80 will also begin (from March 29-30),” he said.
The minister noted that in general, within the framework of the second stage of vaccination, it is planned to launch more than 2,500 vaccination points, which will be deployed as the vaccine arrives.
In addition, Stepanov added that the vaccination program exceeded the mark of 100,000 vaccinations and currently 111,025 vaccinations have been carried out in the country.
Ukraine will issue an international certificate of vaccination, acting within the framework of international law, Deputy Minister of Health, Chief State Sanitary Doctor Viktor Liashko told the Telegram channel Coronavirus Info.
According to the message, if a country requires an international certificate of vaccination against coronavirus (COVID-19) disease when crossing the border, Ukrainians will receive such a free certificate in two clicks.
“But it is not worth implementing and demanding a certificate of vaccination against COVID-19 now. I fully share the opinion of WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge who publicly warns the European Commission against plans to introduce documents on vaccination against COVID-19,” Liashko said.
The European Union plans to present a demo version of COVID-19 vaccination passports on March 17, Deputy Health Minister Yaroslav Kucher said during a press briefing in Kyiv on Monday.
“Currently, there is no jointly worked out decision on vaccination passports in the world. The EU is only discussing a unified document and proposes to submit a demo version of the document on March 17,” he said.
The deputy minister added that after the approval of the unified document, Ukraine will be able to issue it to citizens on the basis of vaccination data, which are stored in the corresponding register of the electronic health care system.
“When the EU or other countries adopt a unified document that Ukraine will support, it will be possible to issue such a document or certificate based on the data in the electronic health care system,” he said.
Kucher also added that currently, countries that carry out vaccinations issue vaccination certificates, certificates or QR codes in paper or electronic format. For example, in Israel a certificate is issued electronically, in Poland a QR code is issued, in Denmark one can download a certificate through a special portal, Hungary offers a mobile application, and in Sweden the certificate will be issued in electronic format with its own application.
