First COVID-19 vaccines in Ukraine to arrive in May

The first supply of COVID-19 vaccines will arrive in
Ukraine not earlier than May 2021 as part of the COVAX program, as reported by
the epravda.com.ua news site on Nov. 23. The WHO-sponsored COVAX program would
20% of Ukraine’s population with the vaccine, or 8 mln doses per 4 mln people
(two doses per person), while the remainder will have to buy it themselves. The
first to receive the vaccine will be those at greatest risk: medical workers,
senior citizens and those with chronic illnesses. The government is also
negotiating with vaccine producers Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech for supplies,
the results of which won’t be disclosed at the companies’ request. Ukraine’s
2021 budget has earmarked UAH 19.4 bln to buy vaccines, and has access to EUR
50 mln in costs from the European Investment Bank. That will enable the
acquisition of 38 mln doses of the vaccine from Pfizer-BioNTech for 19 mln
citizens.

The National Police closed 1,347 enterprises this
weekend owing to violations of the weekend lockdown, its website reported on
Nov. 23. They included 969 enterprises of trade and household servicing, 327
public eateries and 22 shopping centers. Another 1,395 fines were issued this
weekend for failure to wear masks.

New infections of the COVID-19 disease caused by the
coronavirus reached 12,287 cases on Nov. 23, Health Minister Maksym Stepanov
reported on his Facebook page this morning. That’s compared to 10,945 on Nov.
22 and 12,079 on Nov. 21. An estimated 188 people died from the disease on Nov.
23, compared to 124 on Nov. 22 and 138 on Nov. 21. The city of Kyiv set a
single-day record on Nov. 22 of 112 hospitalizations, Mayor Vitali Klitschko
told an online press briefing. Ukraine ranks among the top five countries in
Europe by total number of new infections of the COVID-19 disease at 10,945 on
Nov. 22, as reported by the worldometers.info web site the next
day.  

Zenon Zawada: Until vaccines
are widely distributed, which won’t be earlier that the summer, the public
should expect the government to continue to apply such preventive measures as
the adaptive quarantine and weekend lockdown. The lockdowns will be applied if
the daily infection rate consistently exceeds 15,000.