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China delays release of vaccine to Ukraine
Journal Staff Report

KYIV, Feb 9 – China delayed release of a license to Ukrainian company Lekhim that was supposed to start importing Chinese coronavirus vaccine to Ukraine, Reuters reported Tuesday citing a source in the health ministry.

The delay, along with slow approval of special legislation regulating the vaccine registration by Parliament, threatens to further undermine vaccination program in Ukraine, already a matter of public concerns.

Lekhim, in a letter to Medical Procurement of Ukraine (MPU), the state agency handling medical procurement contracts, cited delays in obtaining the export license from the Chinese government and the late adoption by Parliament of the special vaccine registration law as key reasons for the deadlock.

“The consequences of these events were the delay in the coordination of the delivery schedule between JSC Lekhim and Sinovac Biotech and the postponement of the delivery of the vaccine in Ukraine,” the told Reuters, citing the letter.

Sinovac, the maker of the Chinese vaccine, and China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The development comes amid an escalating dispute between the two countries over an attempt of a hostile acquisition of a Ukrainian aerospace company by a group of Chinese investors believed to be affiliated with the Chinese military.

Lekhim, which has a deal to deliver 1.9 million doses to the Ukraine government from March, also wrote that it wanted to change the way the shot’s contracted efficacy rate of 70% is measured, though it did not link this to its request for the delay.

Lekhim was supposed to deliver 5 million doses in Ukraine in the first half of 2021, according to its agreement with Sinovac.

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on February 2 warned Ukraine against imposing sanctions on Chinese companies and asked to resolve the despite over acquisition of Motor Sich within boundaries of international law and bilateral agreements.

The warning came after the Ukrainian authorities had imposed sanctions against the Chinese group Skyrizon, preventing the hostile takeover of the aircraft engines maker Motor Sich.

The dispute caused a number of Chinese companies, apparently in coordinated fashion, to suspend investments in Ukraine, according to Anna Derevyanko, executive director of European Business Association.

Ukraine’s vaccination program has lagged behind other European countries in the global scramble for doses and has yet to start.

Sinovac’s vaccine efficacy rates have varied in testing across several countries. In larger-scale trials in Brazil, it was found to be 50.65% effective against COVID-19; in a smaller one in Turkey, it was 91.25%.

The variable data has raised questions about whether Ukraine would approve Sinovac. Lekhim’s agreement with the Ukraine government stipulated that the vaccine must be at least 70% effective against the COVID-19 disease. (rt/tl/ez)




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