Ukraine expects first batch of Sinovac vaccines in three or four weeks - Shmyhal

Ukraine expects the first batch of 700,000 doses of Sinovac's COVID-19 vaccine to arrive in three to four weeks, according to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.

He said this in his speech in the Verkhovna Rada on Tuesday, January 26, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"On December 30, Ukraine signed an agreement to purchase vaccines from Sinovac Biotech. [...] Last week, this vaccine was approved for use in Brazil, where its clinical trials were conducted. We expect the first batch of 700,000 doses of the vaccine from this manufacturer to come in around three to four weeks," Shmyhal said.

He also added that Ukraine expected the supply of 8 to 16 million doses this year under the COVAX scheme. "We expect COVAX's decision on inclusion in the first wave distribution by February 1. In case of a positive decision we will receive up to 200,000 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines in February," Shmyhal said.

He noted that the most likely other vaccines that can be supplied to Ukraine under the COVAX initiative will be those with which this organization signed production agreements – Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Novavax, and Sanofi.

The results of clinical trials of the COVID-19 vaccine from China's Sinovac Biotech conducted in Brazil were announced on December 12. The trials showed the vaccine was 50.4% effective.

Late in 2020, the Ukrainian Health Ministry signed a contract for the supply of 1.913 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine from Sinovac Biotech. The first batch will be 700,000 doses.

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