Stepanov names risk groups to be vaccinated first
The priority population groups for vaccination against coronavirus should be people who are at risk.
Health Minister Maksym Stepanov stated this at a briefing.
"We clearly understand that, so we've drawn up vaccination schedules and prioritized all people. And we believe that the priority groups should be people who are at risk. This is a risk group on a professional ground – our health workers," Stepanov said.
He notes that the risk group on professional grounds also includes educators and employees of the National Police. According to him, the risk group due to age and health should also be mandatory for vaccination. These are people over 60 and people who have comorbidities.
Stepanov added that the Ministry of Health was working to get the coronavirus vaccine as soon as possible.
Earlier, Maksym Stepanov asked the Chargé d'affaires of the United States in Ukraine Kristina Kvien to consider Ukraine as a priority candidate for vaccines in the "mode of testing and use in emergencies."
To recap, Health Minister Maksym Stepanov signed technical documents for Ukraine to receive a coronavirus vaccine from the global COVAX initiative.
As reported earlier, American company Pfizer has completed testing of the COVID vaccine: it is 95% effective.
On November 9, Pfizer and BioNTech announced that their candidate for the COVID-19 vaccine had shown 90 percent effectiveness in protecting people who had not been previously infected with the coronavirus. They established that protection is achieved in 28 days after the start of vaccination, which comprises a two-dose regimen.
