KIEV, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine's Deputy Health Minister Svitlana Shatalova said the World Bank (WB) will loan Ukraine about 2.5 billion hryvnia (88.6 million U.S. dollars) to purchase COVID-19 vaccines, Interfax Ukraine news agency reported on Thursday.
The funds will be used for an "Emergency response to COVID-19 and vaccination in Ukraine" project. "The negotiations on this matter have been held between the World Bank's Board of Executive Directors and the Ukrainian government since December 2020," the official told a briefing in Kiev on Thursday.
Ukrainian Health Minister Maxym Stepanov said Ukraine will receive vaccines in two ways. At least 8 million doses will be donated to the country under the global COVAX initiative. The rest of the vaccines will be purchased by Ukraine from manufacturers. The commercial sale of the COVID-19 vaccine will be possible in Ukraine this summer and the national vaccination plan will inoculate all Ukrainian citizens at the state's expense.
According to the Ukrainian Health Ministry, a total of 1,182,969 COVID-19 cases and 21,662 deaths have been reported in Ukraine as of Friday, while 928,969 patients have recovered. Enditem
