Protesters against compulsory vaccination against coronavirus blocked traffic on Hrushevsky Street near the buildings of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the Cabinet of Ministers in Kiev, RIA Novosti reports.
Vaccination against COVID-19 in Ukraine started on February 24 – on this day, the country began to use the drug Covishield. CoronaVac has been in use since April 13, AstraZeneca since April 18, and Comirnaty since April 26. The Moderna vaccine has been available to everyone since July 22. However, on September 15, the head of the Ministry of Health Viktor Lyashko said that the Moderna vaccine had ended in the country.
About 500 opponents of vaccination came in the morning to the government quarter in the center of Kiev to express their protest, among them people of different ages. They gathered near the buildings of the Verkhovna Rada and the Cabinet of Ministers demanding not to introduce compulsory vaccination in the country against coronavirus. The protesters went out to pedestrian crossings on the carriageway and walk along them back and forth, blocking the movement of vehicles. They shout out “freedom”, “constitution”, “our rights”, “hands off our children”, “the virus does not exist.”
Because of the action in the center of Kiev, a traffic jam was formed. Many drivers honk to let them pass, and some cheer the protesters approvingly. There are few police officers in the government quarter; they do not interfere with the protesters.
Since September 23, Ukraine has moved from the “green” to the “yellow” quarantine zone due to the worsening epidemiological situation. The “red” level of the epidemic danger of the spread of COVID-19 operates in the Kherson, Zaporozhye, Odessa, Donetsk, Dnepropetrovsk, Nikolaev and Rivne regions. In the “red” zone, cinemas, cafes, restaurants, gyms, theaters and other places will work provided that employees of institutions and visitors are 100% vaccinated. Earlier, the Prime Minister of the country Denis Shmygal said that there would be no compulsory vaccination against coronavirus in Ukraine, it is illegal.
Earlier, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine extended the “adaptive” quarantine due to the coronavirus until December 31. This quarantine model provides for restrictions in specific regions. Four zones of epidemiological danger have been introduced: “green”, “yellow”, “orange” and “red”.