Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal has announced the ongoing negotiations on the supply of COVID-19 vaccine to Ukraine with six manufacturers.

"We are negotiating with six vaccine manufacturers, which today have two stages of clinical trials, are undergoing a third, are registered in other countries and with the World Health Organization as an official and legalized vaccine," Shmyhal said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

According to him, today there is an opportunity to choose from three vaccines, and most likely, in the first batches that will arrive in Ukraine, there will be just three different vaccines.

The head of government stressed that all of them will definitely be licensed in Ukraine, and will be approved by WHO and in other countries, that is, the vaccines with a confirmed percentage of effectiveness.

According to him, the Ministry of Health has signed a non-disclosure agreement with almost everyone, which does not give the right to publicly discuss some details.

"But we are participants in the global COVAX initiative, and also appealed to all our partners about the need to supply the first batches of vaccine as soon as possible. Now I can say that these negotiations have yielded results - Ukraine will have a vaccine no later than February," Shmyhal said.

He is convinced that vaccination against COVID-19 in Ukraine on a commercial basis will take place in parallel with state vaccination.

"As soon as vaccines are registered in Ukraine under the accelerated procedure, commercial enterprises will immediately have the opportunity to import these vaccines to Ukraine. Further, this is a question for such companies, they also negotiate and conclude contracts. I am convinced that these will be parallel processes with state vaccination," said Shmyhal, answering the question when Ukrainians will have the opportunity to get vaccinated against COVID-19 on a commercial basis.

As for the results of checks on possible clandestine vaccination against COVID-19, the prime minister said that law enforcement agencies had opened criminal proceedings, and appropriate investigative actions are underway.

"Separately, I gave an order to the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, on the basis of which the relevant actions are taken. All the necessary documents have been signed to conduct an inspection of the enterprise specified in the information materials. But since this is a criminal proceeding, I will not disclose any data in advance," he added.

As reported, on January 16, deputy head of the Servant of the People faction Yevhenia Kravchuk, after a meeting of the faction with Minister of Health Maksym Stepanov, said that the first stage of vaccination of Ukrainians against the coronavirus disease COVID-19 could begin, approximately, in mid-February 2021.