Winter Surge in Cases and 1 Million Vaccinations a Week: COVID-19 in Ukraine

Ukraine will still receive 6.5 million vaccine doses.

Health Minister Viktor Liashko predicts a surge in coronavirus cases in winter. We bring you the latest news on the disease in Ukraine and how many vaccines the country will receive over the coming months. 

6.5 million doses

Viktor Liashko, speaking at a briefing within the framework of the Kyiv Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen, said that Ukraine will receive about 6.5 million doses of coronavirus vaccines during August and September. 

Viktor Liashko
Head of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine

Vaccines continue to arrive. There will be more deliveries in August and September. At least 6.5 million doses of vaccine will arrive. 

He noted that today there are about 9.5 million doses of vaccine available at vaccination points in medical facilities, mass vaccination sites and mobile teams. 

Surge in cases

Liashko also predicted a surge in coronavirus cases in winter. According to him, the dynamics of case growth in Ukraine and EU countries differ. 

As an example, he cited the Netherlands, where "literally within three or four days" the number of infections rose from 200-300 to 10,000, held for three weeks and then began to decline. 

Viktor Liashko
Head of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine

In Ukraine we see gradual growth, and it reflects the dynamics we had in 2020. Therefore, looking at this dynamic, despite the presence of other strains, we can speak of a larger increase in cases specifically in the winter period. And since for influenza and influenza-like illnesses, growth is more typical for Ukraine in mid-October to November and early December, the second wave will be in February and March. 

Vaccination pace

The number of vaccinations in Ukraine has risen to 1 million a week, and the pace may increase further. 

Viktor Liashko
Head of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine

The vaccination pace is very different from what it was in May, for example. Today we are administering one million vaccinations a week. And this is what I was talking about, that we can do 3.5-4 million (vaccinations — ed.) a month. For May-April this was not very realistic. Today we have reached this figure, but looking at capacity, at how many one team can vaccinate, we say that the vaccination pace in Ukraine can still grow. 

The minister urged Ukrainians to come to vaccination points and "create a stir in the healthcare system". Such a load is much better for the Ministry of Health than a large influx of patients when there is a surge in cases. 

"Since the system will cope with vaccinating healthy people, the question is whether, under pandemic conditions, we can prevent the collapse of the healthcare system. No one can give guarantees here," the health minister noted. 

Over the past day, on August 23, 71,427 people were vaccinated against coronavirus in Ukraine. Of them, 28,142 people received the first dose, and 43,285 people were fully immunized. 

Over the course of the day, 604 mobile teams, 2,321 vaccination points and 328 vaccination centers operated. 

In total, since the start of the vaccination campaign, 5,099,802 people have been vaccinated, of whom 3,179,661 people are fully immunized (received two doses of vaccine). In total, 8,279,461 vaccinations have been given.