The number one priority for the Ministry of Health will be overcoming of COVID-19 disease, said Deputy Minister of Health, Chief State Sanitary Doctor, candidate for Minister of Health Viktor Liashko during a meeting of the Verkhovna Rada on Thursday.

"Number one priority for me is overcoming the coronavirus disease. We will do everything so that Ukrainians can get vaccinated, work and travel. But this pandemic is not over yet and, unfortunately, it is not the last. That is why the biological safety of citizens will become a priority for the ministry. In the fall, we will have a completely different readiness of the health care system to respond to outbreaks of infectious diseases and epidemics, approaches to responding to radiation and chemical threats will be completely revised," he said.

Liashko noted that by the end of 2021, everyone who wants to be vaccinated against coronavirus will be able to do so.

The deputy minister added that Ukraine needs its own vaccine production.

"We need our own production of vaccines. The Ministry of Health will determine a list of critical medicines, offer a stable government order so that investors deploy capacities for their production in Ukraine and provide products to our citizens as a priority," he said.

Liashko also noted that by the end of the year it is planned to expand the "Affordable Medicines" program to new diseases, to approve new industry standards.