The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky instructed to start an investigation into rumors about clandestine vaccinations of officials in country. He responded to these messages in his Facebook .
“If someone really thought of secretly and in violation of the law to import a vaccine for sale, the reaction should be as harsh as possible,” the head of state wrote. Messages will be checked by Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).
Zelensky added that the Ukrainian authorities already have a mass vaccination plan, the first to receive the drug will be citizens who are at risk, as well as those who are “on the front line” in the fight against COVID-19.
About the fact that Ukrainian officials secretly purchase a vaccine produced by the American consortium Pfizer / BioNTech for distribution in narrow VIP circles, told the head of the editorial board of the Observer portal Mikhail Brodsky . According to him, the vaccination, which consists of two injections, costs 2.5 thousand dollars. The drug was delivered on December 29 or 30 on a charter flight, probably as the baggage of a person with a diplomatic passport, so the vaccine was smuggled past customs.
Officially, Ukraine has not purchased any of the existing vaccines against COVID-19. On January 3, the head of the state enterprise “Medical Procurement of Ukraine” told that the contract for delivery of two drugs at once fell through. The Ministry of Health stated that the company simply could not provide a bank guarantee to the manufacturer. At the same time, the possibility of purchasing Russian vaccines in Ukraine was repeatedly ruled out, despite readiness of the Russian side start shipping.