U.S. and Estonia to deliver COVID vaccines to Ukraine

The U.S. government announced on on June 3 that
Ukraine would be among the first countries to receive COVID vaccine aid. The
allocation is part of 25 million doses sent primarily through the UN COVAX
program. On June 3, President Zelensky thanked U.S. President Joe Biden by way
of Twitter for the aid.

Estonia has also announced that it was willing to
donate 800,000 vaccines through COVAX and the EU Eastern Partnership program.
Foreign Minister Eva-Maria Liimets stated that the Eastern Partnership
donations would include Ukraine as well as Georgia, Moldova, Belarus, Armenia
and Azerbaijan.

The announcements come as Ukraine’s vaccination
efforts expand. Tens of thousands of Ukrainians are being vaccinated daily and
mass-vaccination points are being set up in 10 cities across the country on
June 5-6. On June 3, Ukraine had 395 mobile teams and 436 vaccination points
engaged according to pravda.com.ua.

James Hydzik: Ukraine’s vaccination drive has reached a turning point as people
awaken to the greater probability of recurring and more life-threatening
illnesses at home while their colleagues travel abroad with relative impunity.
One side-effect of the drive will be to increase the number of Ukrainians with
care contracts with specific providers, which is a reform that helps the Health
Ministry better direct money flows, as those with contracts have more options
when it comes to vaccination in terms of convenience and, to a degree, choice
of vaccine.