During a trip to the Ivano-Frankivsk region, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that the state is working to obtain vaccines against COVID-19. He reminded that Ukraine already has an agreement on free 8 million doses of vaccine within the COVAX program, but the authorities are trying to increase this number.
"We are working to get 16 million. The key thing is to have a lot of people willing to be vaccinated,” he said during a meeting with representatives of the administrative and economic sector of the Ivano-Frankivsk region.
The Head of State spoke about the signing of the first contract for the supply of the vaccine produced by Sinovac Biotech.
"We have already signed the first contract for the supply of the vaccine - no longer a memorandum, but a contract for more than 1.9 million doses. This is a Chinese vaccine that has been tested in Indonesia, Brazil and Turkey," he said.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy also asked local authorities to conduct an information campaign and explain to people the safety of COVID-19 vaccination.
The President noted that the Ukrainian authorities purchase a high-quality and proven vaccine that has shown its effectiveness.
It bears reminding that the conclusion of the contract paves the way for the supply and use of the vaccine after official registration. The first batch of Sinovac Biotech vaccine for Ukraine will be delivered within 30 days after official registration in China, or by one of the competent authorities of the United States, Great Britain, the Swiss Confederation, Japan, Australia, Canada, Israel, India, Mexico, Brazil, or under a centralized procedure by the competent authority of the European Union.