According to forecasts of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine, the epidemic situation in the country should be stable during the holidays, but a new strain of Omicron coronavirus (COVID-19) may appear in Ukraine this week, NSDC Secretary Oleksiy Danilov has said at a conference call chaired by President Volodymyr Zelensky.

"According to NSDC forecasts, the epidemic situation in our country should be stable during the holidays. It is expected that a new strain of the Omicron coronavirus may appear in Ukraine this week. But the results of the first studies in countries where it has already been detected indicate a milder course disease," the President's Office of Ukraine said on its website.

It is noted that due to the approaching Christmas and New Year holidays, the relevant orders of the Ministry of Health and the chief state sanitary physician on anti-epidemic measures were adopted during the operation of the ski resorts.

According to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, anti-epidemic measures have also been developed separately during major events.

The prime minister also said that now Vinnytsia region meets the criteria for leaving the "red" zone, therefore, the issue of its transfer to the "yellow" zone will be considered.

In turn, Health Minister Viktor Liashko said that today Ukraine has overcome the rate of 40% of vaccinated among the adult population: out of 14.1 million citizens, 12 million received two vaccinations against COVID-19.

However, according to him, a decrease in the rate of vaccination has been observed over the past two weeks.

In this context, President Zelensky noted the need to intensify vaccination and said that in January 2022 the list of goods and services that can be purchased for UAH 1,000 provided by the state to every Ukrainian who received a full course of vaccinations, will be expanded.

"From December 19, fully vaccinated Ukrainians will be credited with UAH 1,000. They will be able to spend these funds on the areas most affected by the pandemic – sign up for a gym, go to a cinema, a museum or a concert, buy a train or plane ticket, buy books. At the same time, listening to the wishes of our elderly citizens, for whom health support is important, in particular in a pandemic, it was decided to add medicines to the list of available goods," the head of state said.

He believes that such a move will increase the number of vaccines against COVID-19 among the elderly, and will also contribute to the treatment and prevention of other diseases.

Currently, the Ministry of Digital Transformation is finalizing the technical capabilities so that the purchase of medicines for the funds provided for inoculation will become available from January 2022.