Ukrainians will receive the third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Minister of Health Viktor Lyashko announced this at a briefing. He will sign the order on the additional dose for such categories of citizens today, December 13.
We are not talking about a booster dose, but about an additional vaccination for people who have a reduced or impaired immune system.
Immunocompromised people who:
- underwent transplantation
- receive hormone therapy
- HIV-infected
- cancer patients
- persons older than 60 years who have been vaccinated with two doses of the vaccine (for example, CoronaVac)
The booster dose will become available to Ukrainians already in January-February 2022. It differs from the additional dose of the vaccine in that it is administered some time after the two previous vaccinations in order to strengthen immunity, as protection decreases over time.
An additional dose is added to the primary vaccination schedule for those who have serious problems with immunity and for whom two doses are not so effective.
The minister also noted that 40% of adult Ukrainians (12 million 457 thousand) have already completed a full course of vaccination.
