The head of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine Maxim Stepanov said that Kiev does not plan to register the Russian vaccine against the Sputnik V coronavirus. On Friday, January 29, the portal LIGA.net reports.
According to Stepanov, Ukrainian politicians who talk about the possibility of registering a drug are trying to “raise their rating on some kind of hype and fake information.”
“We now have two extremes – one political force has staged some kind of hysteria over the registration of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine. I can say right away that you can be hysterical for a very long time, no one will register the Russian vaccine in the country, ”the minister stressed.
The head of the department expressed confidence that Ukrainians will be able to get vaccinated against coronavirus from February 2021.
At the end of December 2020, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy abandoned Sputnik V, admitting that it is difficult for him to explain to his fellow citizens why Kiev does not want to buy Russian vaccine. In October, the Ukrainian leader announced that the country would receive a “real” vaccine against the coronavirus from the European Union, but in the end Kiev bought the drug from Chinese companies.
On January 12, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that he would be against the use of Sputnik V in the country, even if Ukrainian experts assure the effectiveness of the vaccine.
On January 25, the deputy of the Verkhovna Rada from the “Opposition Platform – For Life” Nestor Shufrich called the position of the Ukrainian authorities on “Sputnik V” irresponsible. He recalled that the Russian drug is already used in a number of countries around the world, in connection with which he condemned Kiev’s refusal from “one of the most effective measures to combat COVID-19.”
Politicians and public figures have repeatedly called on Kiev to purchase the Russian coronavirus vaccine, as it has shown high efficiency and safety.