Ukraine To Get 1st Batch Of Chinese Sinovac COVID Vaccine By Mid-March - Distributor

KIEV (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 04th March, 2021) Preparations are underway to deliver the Chinese Sinovac Biotech's coronavirus vaccine to Ukraine before March 15, Ukrainian pharmaceutical company Lekhim, the authorized representative of the Chinese manufacturer in Kiev, said on Thursday.

Earlier this week, Ukrainian health minister Maksym Stepanov said that the country expected the vaccine doses to be delivered by March 6, but the shipments might be delayed.

"The Group of Pharmaceutical Companies 'Lekhim' ... announces its intention to deliver to Ukraine the first batch of the CoronaVac vaccine by Sinovac until March 15, 2021. The shipment will be carried out by 'Lekhim,'" the company said in a statement, as cited by the national Suspilne broadcaster.

In mid-December, Kiev reached an agreement with the Chinese company to receive 1.9 million doses of its vaccine as soon as possible. Sinovac said it filed a registration application in early February and is still waiting for the answer.

Ukraine has already received the first batch of 500,000 doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID-19 vaccine from India. The country is also set to receive 117,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine through the COVAX scheme, and another 2.2 million to 3.7 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine in the first quarter of the year.