On the eve of the New Year, it became known that Ukraine agreed to purchase 1,9 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine from the Chinese company Sinovac. The drug, which is called CoronaVac, may arrive in our country already in February. And, most likely, this will become the first vaccine against COVID-19 in Ukraine.
ElitExpert understood what this vaccine is.
What is this vaccine?
Sinovac Biotech is the largest Chinese vaccine company. Her invention CoronaVac, unlike the American Pfizer, can be stored at a temperature of +2 to +8, therefore it does not require special equipment for storage. For immunization, you need two injections with a difference of two weeks.
Despite the fact that work on CoronaVac began back in January 2020, it is still not ready. Officially, this vaccine has not yet passed the third stage of testing, its end is planned in January, when the drug will be submitted for WHO requalification.
However, some countries have already purchased the drug and are themselves conducting the third stage of research. And there is conflicting information about the drug from different countries. For example, after tests on volunteers in Indonesia, the effectiveness of CoronaVac reached 97%, but in Brazil - only 50%.
How much?
As mentioned at the beginning, Ukraine signed a contract for the purchase of 1,9 million doses. In general, the purchase of CoronaVac will cost almost a billion hryvnias, that is, 504 hryvnias per dose (about 18 dollars). By the way, the most expensive vaccine from the American company Moderna costs the same. The drug is the same Pfizer with which Europe, the USA and Israel are vaccinated now, on average it costs almost 15 dollars.
How many Ukrainians will be vaccinated?
There are two doses per person. Thus, deliveries from Sinovac will be enough for 950 thousand Ukrainians. Ukraine's budget for the purchase of vaccines provides 2,6 billion hryvnias, while 1 billion will be spent on CoronaVac. If the state continues to purchase this vaccine at the same cost, it will be enough for approximately 2,5 million people. This is about 7-8% of the country's population.
When will it be in Ukraine?
According to the terms of the contract, the first batch of vaccine in the amount of 700 thousand doses will be delivered to Ukraine within 30 days after the official registration in China or according to the centralized procedure of the European Union. That is, the first doses may arrive in Ukraine in February, after the planned registration in China, which is expected in January. The rest should be sent by the end of the first quarter, that is, by April.
Why the Chinese vaccine?
Ukraine failed to purchase vaccines against the coronavirus. If many countries began to sign contracts for its purchase in the spring of 2020, then, according to unconfirmed information, our state began to move in this direction only in December - when the lion's share of vaccines was reserved for others.
In turn, the government refused the Russian drugs, and the vaccines, which are provided to Ukraine free of charge under the COVAX mechanism, are still far from ready and it is not known when they will arrive in our country. Therefore, Ukraine had to urgently look for an alternative.
