The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), as part of the COVAX mechanism, delivered three freezers to Ukraine to store the Pfizer coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine at ultra-low temperatures.

According to the Health Ministry website, freezers with a temperature range of 40°C below zero to 86°C below zero manufactured by Vestfrost (Denmark) will be installed at the warehouse of SOE "Ukrmedpostach."

Additional ultra-cold freezers will increase Ukraine's national storage capacity for Pfizer's vaccine, which requires ultra-low temperature conditions down to 80°C below zero.

"In the coming months, we expect weekly deliveries of almost 500,000 doses of Comirnaty vaccine from Pfizer-Biontech, so we need more equipment for supply chains," Health Minister Viktor Liashko said.

According to Head of the UNICEF office in Ukraine Murat Sahin, the emergence of mRNA vaccines amid COVID-19 has now prompted many countries to update their cold chain equipment.

"At UNICEF, we are proud to be able to support Ukraine in this update and would like to express our gratitude to the partners and donors within COVAX who make this possible. This allows a larger volume of vaccines to be stored at ultra-low temperatures, ensuring that they remain effective to protect people in Ukraine from COVID-19," he said.

The storage and logistics of mRNA vaccines obtained from COVAX, in compliance with the appropriate cold chain in Ukraine, is provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Ukraine will also continue to receive COVID-19 vaccines as part of COVAX. Currently, within COVAX, over 4.325 million doses of vaccines from various manufacturers (Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca) have already been delivered to Ukraine.

The COVAX Initiative aims to ensure fair and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for every country in the world. COVAX is coordinated by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), WHO and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation (CEPI), and UNICEF is working with manufacturers and partners to procure and supply COVID-19 vaccines.

COVAX works with civil society organizations, vaccine manufacturers, the governments of the United States, UK, European Union, the World Bank and others.