Photo: Facebook / India in Ukraine (Embassy of India, Ukraine)
India will soon supply 500,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine to Ukraine. The agreement was reached during the visit of the Minister of Health Maksym Stepanov to Delhi. This was reported by the Embassy of India in Ukraine.
The Covishield vaccine from the Serum Institute will be supplied. It is reported to be a licensed version of the AstraZeneca and Oxford University vaccine produced in India.
The batch of 500,000 doses is called the first tranche, "that will allow Ukraine to start a campaign of the population vaccination throughout the country." New deliveries may take place as vaccine production expands in India.
Stepanov wrote on Facebook on February 21 that the vaccine is already being transported to Mumbai. Then it will have a long journey by cargo plane with a stopover in Istanbul.
Context. On Thursday, February 18, Stepanov said that 500,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine would be in Ukraine by the end of the week. This vaccine is purchased for budget money.
On February 15, an application was submitted to the State Expert Center of the Ministry of Health for state registration in Ukraine of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine under obligation for emergency medical use. It has not been reported.whether this application also includes licensed versions of this vaccine.
"Organizationally, we are ready for the arrival of any type and quantity of vaccines," wrote the Deputy Minister of Health, Chief Sanitary Doctor Viktor Lyashko. According to him, there is a clear plan that allows immediately upon arrival of the vaccine to deliver it simultaneously in 11 cars to regional warehouses. Six regions: Zhytomyr, Kyiv, Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Poltava, Vinnytsia, and the city of Kyiv will receive the vaccine on the day of arrival, others—the next day.
At the end of January, Stepanov said that vaccination against coronavirus in Ukraine would begin approximately on February 15. However, nothing happened on the appointed day, since the vaccine did not arrive in the country. Stepanov later explained why this happened.
People's Deputy from Servant of the People Iryna Vereshchuk said that Stepanov could be dismissed if vaccination did not begin in Ukraine by the end of February.
In early February, NABU started an investigation against the Head of the Ministry of Health due to possible fraud with the purchase of vaccines. It was started due to the fact that the Ministry of Health wants to buy Sinovac vaccine through a private company at a price of $17.85 per dose, although State Enterprise "Medzakupki" was negotiating its purchase at a price of $3.
Stepanov said that NABU's investigation into the purchase of vaccines against coronavirus will negatively affect negotiations with medication manufacturers.