“Citizens of Ukraine are waiting for an answer from the Government, the Parliament, and the authorities on what to expect from the lockdown planned by the Government on January 8. People are worried about the consequences of this lockdown for the country, the economy, small business, the employee and the entire budget sphere. What help from the state and what compensation will people receive during the period of strict quarantine restrictions,” noted Olena Kondratiuk during the Conciliation Council of parliamentary factions and groups.
Another issue she thinks worries the public is the mass vaccination against COVID-19, which has already begun in the UK and the US and is planned in Canada and the European Union.
The Deputy Chairperson stressed that more than 600 coronavirus vaccination centers had been set up in the United States, taking into account the availability of special refrigeration equipment. At the same time, the European Union has formed a portfolio of different vaccines, signed contracts with six manufacturers and has already purchased more than 300 million doses of the vaccine. She also noted that the EU has agreed on a parity distribution of the vaccine between countries according to population, and mass vaccination in the European Union will begin in January 2021.
“At the same time, no one still knows or understands exactly when Ukrainians will be vaccinated against the coronavirus. According to the Ministry of Health, at the first stage it is necessary to vaccinate 20 million Ukrainians from risk groups, including the elderly. The only agreement that Ukraine has is to receive 8 million doses of vaccine in the first half of the year within the framework of the global COVAX initiative. This will be enough for only 4 million people with the need for 40 million doses of vaccine,” Olena Kondratiuk remarked.
She also drew attention to the conclusions of the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen that people's lives will be saved not so much by vaccines, but by how the vaccination process will be prepared and organized in each country.
“Therefore, I am convinced that the Verkhovna Rada must urgently take under its parliamentary control the issue of preparation for mass vaccination against coronavirus in Ukraine. And also providing all Ukrainians who need it with a free vaccine in sufficient quantities,” emphasized Olena Kondratiuk.
She reminded that she had personally raised the issue of vaccine supplies to Ukraine to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Health during the hour of questions to the Government and at various meetings.
“We were assured that everything was fine. That we are in the process of negotiating a vaccine. However, the current agreements are clearly insufficient to meet Ukraine's needs. The readiness of the infrastructure for mass vaccination of Ukrainians is also worrying. That is why we need to listen to the Prime Minister of Ukraine this week with clear answers about lockdown and coronavirus vaccination during the hour of questions to the Government,” she said.
Separately, the Deputy Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada thanked the European Union for providing Ukraine with 600 million euros of macro-financial assistance to overcome the negative effects of COVID-19. Olena Kondratiuk expressed hope that these funds would be used for their intended purpose.
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