Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko says the capital city is ready to buy COVID-19 vaccines for 500,000 residents at the expense of municipal budget funds.
"I use all my foreign contacts to provide Kyiv residents with a vaccine. It is about purchasing one million doses for 500,000 residents. As of today the city's authorities have preliminary agreements with some producers," he said during an online briefing on Friday, an UNIAN correspondent reported.
Klitschko clarified the local authorities were in talks with several U.S. and European companies producing vaccines against the coronavirus.
According to the mayor, the capital city has prepared infrastructure for vaccination: there is equipment for storing vaccines, vaccination rooms, while specialists will undergo the relevant training.
Read alsoKyiv mayor reports 507 new COVID-19 cases, 14 fatalities in past day"The capital city is ready to buy the vaccine at the expense of the city budget, as Ukraine hasn't received any of the vaccines yet. And Kyiv is a multimillion city where the virus has been spreading at the fastest pace. We must prevent the spread of the disease. First of all, protect the most vulnerable categories of the population. Doctors who rescue patients today, elderly people, social workers, educational workers, critical municipal infrastructure specialists – transport workers, housing and utilities sector's specialists, law enforcers, rescuers, etc.," Klitschko said.
According to him, vaccination will be free for such categories.
"The city will purchase vaccines from producers. The vaccine to be bought by the municipality will be free for certain categories of people I have just mentioned," Klitschko said.
He said he would submit a draft decision on Friday, January 22, to amend the Health of Kyiv residents program for 2021 for consideration by members of Kyiv City Council. This will allow procurements of the vaccines at the expense of municipal budget funds, as well as vaccinating the said categories of people.
"We must urgently take this decision so as not to delay the payment as soon as the contract is signed, so that Kyiv will get the vaccine as soon as possible," the mayor added.
