100 thousand doses of diphtheria and tetanus vaccines delivered to Ukraine for routine free vaccinations
The vaccines were delivered to Ukraine by the United Nations Children’s Fund UNICEF. They will be distributed to the regions for routine vaccinations and revaccinations of the population.
“Since the beginning of the full-scale war, the Ministry of Health, including in cooperation with international partners, has been ensuring the uninterrupted availability of vaccines for routine vaccination at the level of each oblast. An additional round of immunization against diphtheria and tetanus is currently underway in the country. Therefore, medics remind children who have missed scheduled vaccinations according to the National Vaccination Schedule and adults who have not received revaccinations about the importance of vaccinations and invite them to get vaccinated. In remote communities and towns, there are vaccination teams that also carry out revaccination of the adult population. If the recommended vaccinations are missed, for example, due to moving to another city, parents should contact the nearest medical facility or family doctor and catch up.”
At the initiative of the Ministry of Health, the Center for Public Health and regional Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with support from WHO and UNICEF, have launched additional diphtheria and tetanus immunization activities in each oblast. In the four months since the start of the “catch-up vaccination” against diphtheria and tetanus, children and adults have caught up with 890,900 previously missed vaccinations. In particular, from August to December 2024, 120,921 children under the age of 7 and 119,353 children aged 7 to 17 who had missed diphtheria and tetanus vaccinations earlier caught up with the vaccination. In addition, 640,195 adults caught up with missed vaccinations and were revaccinated within four months.
Vaccines are safe and effectively protect against diseases, which is extremely important today given the insufficient diphtheria vaccination coverage in the country and the increased risk of injury and tetanus infection during military operations.
“Routine immunization saves lives and is essential to give every child a healthy start in life. Timely immunizations protect not only your child, but the entire community. If your child has missed any routine vaccinations, it is important to catch up as soon as possible.”
According to the National Immunization Schedule, the DPT vaccine is administered to children at the age of six. If your child has missed any routine vaccinations, make sure that they are caught up in full as soon as possible. It is recommended that adults be revaccinated against tetanus and diphtheria every ten years throughout their lives. Vaccination against diphtheria and tetanus is free of charge.
For reference: UNICEF supports the immunization of the population by ensuring an uninterrupted supply of vaccines and preventing vaccine shortages within the immunization program. With support from the French government, UNICEF delivered 270,000 doses of tetanus and diphtheria vaccine to Ukraine in early November 2024.
In 2024, at the request of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, UNICEF delivered a total of about 1.9 million doses of vaccines (polio, diphtheria-tetanus for children and adults, measles-mumps-rubella, the combined PENTA-Hib vaccine, and specific COVID-19 vaccines). This would not have been possible without the support of the Government of Japan, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (Gavi).
In addition, UNICEF is working with the European Union, the World Bank, the Government of Japan, USAID and the COVAX initiative to modernize the cold chain infrastructure in Ukraine. Currently, about 95% of healthcare facilities in Ukraine are equipped with modern cold chain systems and electronic monitors to track vaccine storage temperatures.