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The president of the European Commission has called on EU member states to donate part of their coronavirus vaccine supply to Ukraine.
“In addition to Covax, I have also asked our Member States to donate part of their doses to Ukraine,” European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said in a video speech during of a conference held in Kiev on Monday.
Covax is an initiative to provide equitable global access to Covid-19 vaccines and is led by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the World Health Organization.
“Thanks to Covax, Ukrainian doctors and nurses will receive the first vaccines this month. Millions more doses will reach Ukraine by the summer, “said von der Leyen.” We will only stop the pandemic if we bring the virus under control in all of our countries. We Europeans are all together in this area, ”she added.
The EU has been criticized for its handling of the vaccine rollout across the continent. Von der Leyen did not specify what donations to Ukraine – a non-EU country – would mean for the bloc.
Learn more about Ukraine: Ukraine has a population of around 40 million people. It is awaiting delivery of eight million doses of vaccine promised under the United Nations Covax program and up to five million doses of the Chinese vaccine CoronaVac. The country will begin the first phase of its Covid-19 inoculation program this month, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced at the conference.
The 43-year-old leader, who showed mild symptoms of the coronavirus last year, said he was ready to get the shot to encourage others to do the same.
“Like most world leaders, I am ready to show people by personal example that vaccination is important, that it is safe, that it is necessary,” Zelensky said.
Ukraine has recorded more than 1.2 million cases and more than 23,000 deaths from Covid-19.
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