Ukraine's vaccine start and the Sternenko sentence, 25 February 2021
A look back at the days around 25 February 2021, when Ukraine began vaccinating against COVID-19 and an Odesa court sentenced an activist.
What was Ukraine's public life dealing with on 25 February 2021? Two developments from the preceding days shaped the moment: the start of COVID-19 vaccination and a court sentence against an activist.
The first vaccinations
On 23 February 2021, Ukraine had two COVID-19 vaccines registered: one from AstraZeneca and one from Pfizer/BioNTech. The same day, the first shipment of the Covishield vaccine reached the country. It comprised 500 doses of the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India.
The pace was quick. On 24 February 2021, the first person in Ukraine was vaccinated against coronavirus, using the AstraZeneca vaccine. Registration, delivery and the first injection therefore took place within roughly two days. By 25 February 2021, vaccination had begun, though the initial shipment was a modest 500 doses.
A sentence in Odesa
Also on 23 February 2021, the Prymorskyi District Court of Odesa sentenced the activist Serhiy Sternenko to seven years and three months in prison, with confiscation of half of his property.
Reading the two together
The two developments are unrelated in subject, but both marked the public agenda in the same days. The vaccine campaign was a matter of logistics and public health: which products were approved, how many doses had arrived and who received the first shot. The Sternenko ruling was a judicial decision against a named public figure, with a heavy custodial term and a financial penalty attached.
For readers following Ukraine's institutions, the vaccine timeline showed regulators and health authorities moving from approval to delivery to administration in quick succession. The Odesa verdict, for its part, set out a specific sentence that would be the reference point for what followed in the case.
