Vaccination with CoronaVac launched in Ukraine on April 13 / REUTERS

Ukrainian Health Minister Maksym Stepanov has said Ukraine on Tuesday, April 13, launched the vaccination of its citizens with China's CoronaVac vaccine against COVID-19.

"From today we are launching the vaccination with this drug. Ukraine has received the first batch of 215,000 doses," he said at a briefing, an UNIAN correspondent reported.

"In total, we have contracted 1.9 million doses. And the rest under this contract, namely 1.7 million doses, will be delivered soon. We expect the delivery in April-May this year," he added.

According to him, the ministry has completed all stages of laboratory testing of the vaccine.

Read alsoCOVID-19: China's CoronaVac vaccine certified for use in UkrainePolice, people with disabilities and their caregivers, Olympic and Paralympic athletes, as well as people who will work during the 2021 external independent testing at schools will get vaccinated with the CoronaVac vaccine, he said.

CoronaVac vaccine: What is known

  • Ukraine's Health Ministry has registered a vaccine developed by U.S. Pfizer, the Covishield vaccine by Oxford/AstraZeneca, and CoronaVac by China's Sinovac Biotech.
  • On February 24, 2021, a nationwide vaccination campaign was launched in Ukraine. Covishield, a recombinant vector vaccine produced under license at Serum Institute of India, is being used.
  • On March 25, 2021, the first batch of 215,000 doses of Chinese-made CoronaVac arrived in Ukraine. The vaccine had to undergo laboratory checks for 10 days, after which it was transferred to State Enterprise 'Medical Procurement of Ukraine' for its delivery to the regions.
  • On April 12, 2021, Stepanov said the CoronaVac vaccines had been sent to the regions.
  • Local trials in China showed the vaccine is 65% effective, while those in Turkey proved its 91.25% effectiveness.