The authorities need to take a number of measures to combat the spread of coronavirus in Ukraine, and vaccination against COVID-19 is a priority. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a speech at the forum "Ukraine 30. Coronavirus: Challenges and Responses".
"The first is vaccination, it's a road map. It is designed to ensure proper and equal access to the vaccine for all residents of Ukraine. Its main task is to cover at least half of the population of Ukraine during 2021 and early 2022," the Head of State said.
The President stressed that recently providing Ukraine with a sufficient number of doses of quality vaccines from leading international manufacturers has been the main task. However, now the issue is practically resolved.
"We have agreed to supply vaccines to Ukraine from Pfizer, Sinovak, AstraZeneca and Novavax. The first phase of vaccination will begin this month, the vaccine will be given to our doctors, the military and the National Guard," Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted.
However, the Head of State noted that after resolving the issue of vaccine supply to Ukraine, the authorities faced a new problem - distrust of vaccinations and refusal to vaccinate from a large part of the population.
"This is a new, but, I think, very serious current issue that we all have to solve. I am ready to show people by personal example, like most world leaders, that vaccination is important, it is safe, it is necessary,” the Head of State summed up.
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said in her video address to the forum participants that thanks to the COVAX initiative, doctors and medical staff of Ukraine will receive the first vaccines this month.
"Millions more doses of the vaccine will have arrived in Ukraine by the summer," she said.
The President of the European Commission noted that the European Union was the largest donor to the COVAX initiative, and said that she had asked other EU members to donate some of their vaccines to Ukraine.
"All vaccines from the EU are guaranteed to be safe and effective. They have been thoroughly inspected by an independent European Medicines Agency. The EU is on the side of Ukraine, as it always has been, especially in the difficult moments of your recent history. Because we are all one European family," Ursula von der Leyen said.
