KIEV, Oct 27 — Ukrainians rushed to get vaccinated today after Kiev rolled out new anti-Covid measures as it battles a fresh rise in cases.
The country today reported a record number of jabs, with more than 291,000 people vaccinated over the past 24 hours.
It was the highest figure since the beginning of Ukraine’s vaccination drive in February.
More than 1.6 million Ukrainians received the jab over the past week, the tally said, compared to 906,000 vaccinated in the previous seven days.
Authorities in the country of around 41 million people initially struggled to source vaccines.
They have also fought to convince a vaccine-hesitant population to get the jab.
“Get vaccinated! This is the only way to prevent a rapid spread of the virus... and save people’s lives,” Kiev mayor Vitaly Klitschko said on social media platform Telegram.
The rush came after restrictions were reimposed last week in several regions badly hit by a surge in virus cases.
People visiting and working in public venues, including cinemas and gyms, are required to be vaccinated from Saturday.
On Tuesday, Ukraine reported a record 734 Covid-19 deaths in the ex-Soviet nation, which has an under-resourced public health service.
Despite three vaccines being widely available in Ukraine—AstraZeneca, Pfizer and the Chinese-made CoronaVac—only 18 percent of the country is fully vaccinated.
Ukraine has recorded more than 2.8 million coronavirus cases and 65,000 deaths since the start of the pandemic. — AFP
