UNICEF to deliver 118,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine to Ukrainian doctors in Feb

Representative of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Ukraine Lotta Sylwander said this during the All-Ukrainian Forum "Ukraine 30. Coronavirus: Challenges and Responses" in Kyiv on February 8, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

“We - UNICEF - will be purchasing Pfizer vaccine through the COVAX Facility. Some 118,000 doses will arrive in Ukraine this month. They will be primarily intended for doctors,” she said.

At the same time, she noted that the reason for the delay in the start of vaccination against COVID-19 in Ukraine is "competition in the global market for access to vaccines."

As reported, three COVID-19 vaccines have been certified in the EU, namely Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca.

Health Minister Maksym Stepanov said earlier that Ukraine expects to receive 8 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine within the framework of the COVAX Facility, in particular 117,000 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and from 2.2 million to 3.7 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine during the first and second quarters.

The Ministry of Health plans to start a COVID-19 vaccination campaign in February 2021. The ministry plans to vaccinate 50% of the population of Ukraine in 2021-2022.

As of February 8, Ukraine reported 1,246,990 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 2,141 new cases recorded over the past 24 hours.

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