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Monsters Corporation, one of the most active charity groups in Odessa, is fighting the third Covid-19 wave, collecting donations to buy and distribute oxygen devices.

Founded in 2014, the organisation, led by volunteer Katerina Nozhevnikova, was originally set up to help orphans from the war area of Lugansk settle in Odessa. Now, the charity is helping provide oxygen concentrators in Odessa region.

I monitor the situation and know our hospitals from the inside for many, many years. It was clear that mechanical ventilation was needed, but not in that amount. We started buying oxygen in July and I queued up wherever possible. There were very big supply disruptions and it was almost impossible to buy oxygen.

Katerina Nozhevnikova, Founder of Monsters Corporation

Katerina shows upset when she talks about how Odessa citizens adhere to quarantine measures.

There are still arguments on the internet about how the virus is not real. It’s like we’re in two parallel worlds: I am at work, living in this hell, then I go out into the city and you think everything is fine, nothing is happening.

Nozhevnikova never complains about her task: it’s her choice to do what she does. But the volunteer cannot deny that she is very tired. Physically and mentally.

It’s very hard to listen when a 30-year-old man calls you and you cannot help. When patients call you and say their dad is dead, their son is dead, their brother is dead – it’s very hard.

The prospect of vaccination in Ukraine is narrow. Ukrainian state agencies have found it difficult to procure vaccines at the necessary rate or on time. Moreover, as in much of Europe, there’s widespread scepticism towards vaccination and Covid more generally. According to a recent EU-funded survey, 61% of respondents in Ukraine said they were ready to get vaccinated, compared to 66% in Italy.

Source: Open Democracy