REUTERS

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has called on EU member states to donate COVID-19 vaccines to Ukraine.

Speaking online during the all-Ukrainian forum "Ukraine 30. Coronavirus: Challenges and Answers," she recalled the creation of the global COVAX Facility, thanks to which Ukraine will receive the first batches of vaccines as early as this month.

Read alsoUkraine set to vaccinate half of population against COVID-19 in 2021, early 2022According to the official, millions more doses of vaccine will arrive from the EU in Ukraine by summer. All vaccines are safe and effective since they have been thoroughly verified by the independent European Medicines Agency, she said.

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The EU Commission president added the EU is on the side of Ukraine since it belongs to the European family.

COVID-19 vaccination in Ukraine

On December 30, Ukraine signed a contract with China's Sinovac for the supply of 1.9 million doses of a coronavirus vaccine.

On January 30, 2021, Ukrainian Deputy Health Minister, Chief Medical Officer Viktor Liashko said Ukraine would receive 117,000 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine within the COVAX (the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access Facility) in February.

From the middle of February to the end of June 2021, Ukraine will obtain 2.2 million to 3.7 million doses of an AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine.

First to get vaccinated will be healthcare workers, the elderly, and seriously ill patients.

Read alsoZelensky says vaccinated citizens to enjoy restrictions liftIn December 2020, the Health Ministry's coronavirus task force approved a COVID-19 immunization plan under which at least 50% of Ukrainians (20 million people) are to be vaccinated during 2021-2022.

On January 29, the National Commission for technology-related and environmental safety and emergencies approved a schedule for vaccination against the coronavirus in Ukraine in 2021.

On February 4, Ukrainian Health Minister Maksym Stepanov said the vaccination against COVID-19 in the country would start on February 15.