On February 16, 2021, members of the Supervisory Board of the NOVO Medical Center Oleksandr Maksymchuk (President of the Association of Philanthropists of Ukraine) and Andriy Ionov (member of the Board of the Association of Philanthropists of Ukraine) took part in the webinar "2021 Vaccination Program against COVID-19 in Ukraine" with the Minister of Health in Ukraine by Maxim Stepanov. The webinar was organized by the American-Ukrainian Business Council (USUBC) at the numerous requests of American and Ukrainian companies that are members of the Business Council. The Chairman of the American Medical Center in Ukraine Dr. Ihor Derevyanko, as well as ADM company representative Lorraine Rifle Hawley also took part in the webinar.
In his speech, Maksym Stepanov, Minister of Health of Ukraine, spoke about Ukraine's readiness for large-scale vaccination, schedules for obtaining vaccines from various manufacturers, and cooperation with the COVAX program, which will allow Ukraine to accelerate the pace of vaccination. In particular, he noted that the first vaccinations will be given already at the end of February, and then the vaccination campaign will unfold as the vaccine arrives in Ukraine.
When asked by representatives of the NOVO Center, Ukraine's first non-state non-profit medical institution, about the availability of the vaccine for medical workers working with patients with COVID-19 from private medical institutions, the Minister noted that the vaccination program provides for the vaccination of all medical workers, regardless of the form owned by medical institutions, at one of the first stages of vaccination. In their speeches, Oleksandr Maksymchuk and Andriy Ionov also noted the readiness of private medical institutions, in particular the Novo Center, to assist the state in the vaccination program, organization of training for doctors and medical specialists at the NOVO Center training base.
Minister Stepanov also noted that one of the problems of the national vaccination program against COVID-19 in Ukraine is the relatively low readiness of Ukrainian citizens to be vaccinated, at the level of 45-50%. Emphasizing the free vaccination for Ukrainians and the voluntary nature of vaccination, the Minister noted that a comfortable figure for the population's readiness for vaccination would be at least 60%. In turn, Oleksandr Maksymchuk also reported that the contacts developed by the Novo Center with the media community give the NOVO Center and other medical centers the opportunity to help the state in disseminating information about the need for vaccination.
Oleksandr Maksymchuk and Andriy Ionov thanked Morgan Williams, President of the American-Ukrainian Business Council, for organizing the webinar, and noted the important work of the Business Council in establishing communications between the American and Ukrainian business community and the authorities of Ukraine and the United States.
The webinar was attended by more than 140 participants representing American and Ukrainian companies, Ministries, Embassies, technical assistance projects, educational institutions, and other business associations.
