The first batch of coronavirus vaccines is set to arrive in Ukraine "any day now" from India's Serum Institute, Deputy Health Minister Svitlana Shatalova said Monday
KIEV (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd February, 2021) The first batch of coronavirus vaccines is set to arrive in Ukraine "any day now" from India's Serum Institute, Deputy Health Minister Svitlana Shatalova said Monday.
A day prior, Ukraine's Health Minister Maksym Stepanov traveled to India's Pune to oversee the transportation of 500,000 doses of the CoviShield vaccine, the AstraZeneca variety developed and produced in India.
"Ukraine expects the first batch of coronavirus vaccines any day now. Let me remind you that the drugs from AstraZeneca have already arrived at their destination and are right now en route to Ukraine," Shatalova said Monday at a briefing in Kiev, adding that vaccination will begin according to schedule.
Health Minister Stepanov, while in India, said that he had reached an agreement with the Serum Institute to book another five million doses of the vaccine developed by US pharmaceutical company NovaVax, expected to begin delivery in July.
"We have successfully completed negotiations to increase the supply of the American vaccine NovaVax to Ukraine. We have been confirmed the possibility of supplying an additional five million doses of vaccines from this manufacturer. We will approve the agreement by signing an agreement," Stepanov said in a post on Facebook.
This will increase the total amount of NovaVax vaccines earmarked for Ukraine to 15 million, the minister added.
Kiev in December sealed agreements to greenlight and import the 1.8 million doses of the Chinese-developed Sinovac vaccine, but they have yet to be delivered.
The country has outright refused to approve any Russian vaccines despite some domestic voices urging that, while there is little hope of receiving any from the European brethren through the COVAX scheme in the near future.
