Ukraine records 20 outbreaks of infectious diseases in Q1 2022 - Public Health Center

KYIV. April 28 (Interfax-Ukraine) - Ukraine recorded 20 outbreaks of infectious diseases in the first quarter of 2022, Oksana Koshalko, chief of the disease control division at the Public Health Center, said at a press briefing on routine vaccination on Thursday.

The Lviv region alone saw nine of such outbreaks, she said.

Risks of outbreaks of infectious diseases have grown significantly due to destroyed infrastructure, concentrations of people in enclosed spaces, and inadequate routine vaccination coverage, she said.

Ihor Kuzin, Ukraine's chief public health official, said routine vaccines can be received at any healthcare establishment now.

"There are no financial or bureaucratic obstacles to routine vaccination of children in Ukraine now," Kuzin said.

Internally displaced people will not have to sign a new contract with a family doctor to receive routine vaccines, and children can receive such vaccines for free, Kuzin said.

All information on vaccination will be entered in the healthcare system's electronic database, and anyone can also receive an immunization certificate in paper form if they wish so, he said.