The number of hospitalizations of patients with coronavirus (COVID-19) disease in Ukraine is growing, but vaccination rates have fallen sharply due to the war, Deputy Minister of Health, Chief Sanitary Doctor Ihor Kuzin said.

"We continue to register COVID-19 and cases that ended in death. During the last week, we have seen a 14% increase in hospital admissions compared to the previous week. Over the past week, almost 3,000 Ukrainians have been hospitalized," he said on the air of the telethon on Friday.

At the same time, Kuzin noted that in most cases people over 60 die.

"COVID-19 still continues to circulate and claim lives, which contributes to the fact that the burden on the healthcare system continues to grow," he said.

Kuzin said that "vaccination rates (against COVID-19) have fallen very much, mainly due to security issues during the war."

"Over the past week, about 47,000 vaccinations have been carried out, this is a rather low figure. People mostly receive booster doses of vaccination. This is exactly the part of conscious citizens who come to vaccination points and receive a full course," he said.

Kuzin stressed that vaccines are currently available in sufficient quantities.

In addition, 125,000 doses have already been distributed to the regions for the vaccination of children under 17 years of age.

"This vaccine is specific, it is exclusively a pediatric dosage, it was developed for children, it underwent studies that confirmed its effectiveness and safety. First of all, children who have chronic diseases, children with cancer, after transplants, children who have severe concomitant non-communicable diseases should be vaccinated," he said.

Kuzin stressed that the updated vaccine storage facilities are equipped with uninterruptible power supplies and stabilizers, which ensures their safe storage.