Polio epidemic fears as Ukraine’s vaccine stockpiles dry up

Polio epidemic fears as Ukraine’s vaccine stockpiles dry up

Ukraine may face epidemics of preventable diseases like polio due to a government failure to stockpile vaccines and organize inoculation, the UN’s health body warned. The shortage is aggravated by devaluation and a planned ban on Russian drugs.

The healthcare system of Ukraine was not in good shape to start with, and the political crisis and the subsequent civil war further damaged it, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Tuesday.