Georgia participating in WHO trial against COVID-19 with experimental medicines
Georgia will receive experimental medicines against COVID-19 by the end of May. Photo: EPA.
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Georgia will participate in the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) international clinical trial to help find an effective treatment for COVID-19, and will receive access to four experimental medicines used in the process, Deputy Health Minister of Georgia Tamar Gabunia told Rustavi 2 earlier today.
WHO says that based on evidence from laboratory, animal and clinical studies, the following treatment options were selected: Redemsevir, Lopinavir/Ritonavir, Lopinavir/Ritonavir with Interferon beta-1a and Chloroquine or Hydroxychloroquine.
By the end of May we will have all four experimental medicines in the country and the trial will begin,” Gabunia said.
The four options selected by WHO. Photo: WHO.
She said that COVID-19 patients suffering from a severe form of the virus will be able to opt into the trial.
Gabunai says that WHO has set ‘strong criteria’ for participation in the trial and Georgia has selected seven medical institutions for this which are able to treat COVID-19 patients in critical condition.
Tbilisi Hospital of Infectious Diseases will be the flag carrier in the process, supervising other clinics involved in the trial. Doctors will decide which patients may be involved in the trial and”, Gabunia said.
Gabunia said that Georgia managed to contain the spread of the coronavirus with the help of restrictions, and urged people to stick to the recommendations once the restrictions are lifted. Photo: 1TV.
Head of Georgia’s National Disease Control Centre Amiran Gamkrelidze said in March 2020 that Georgia was negotiating with large US biopharmaceutical company Gilead to receive Remdesivir – an experimental medicine that has been used since 2015 against Ebola, which has also been used by Chinese doctors against COVID-19 in some cases.
Gilead has been providing Georgia with anti-Hepatitis C medicines since 2015.
More than 100 countries are working together to find effective therapeutics as soon as possible, via the trial, WHO says.
Georgia is negotiating with large US biopharmaceutical company Gilead to receive Remdesivir – an experimental medicine that has been used since 2015 against Ebola, which has also been used by Chinese doctors against COVID-19 in some cases.
A COVID-19 patient in Georgia, who was one of the five individuals to test positive for the virus in Georgia, has recovered after being treated in hospital for two months. Director of Tbilisi Hospital of Infectious Diseases Marina Ezugbaia said that the patient, who was placed in hospital on March 5, felt good after several weeks of treatment. However, the individual continued to test positive for the virus.
Georgia has reported 11 new cases of coronavirus earlier today, bringing the total number of cases to 604. 240 of the 604 patients have recovered, while nine others have died. As of today 353 people remain infected with COVID-19 in Georgia. 4,887 people are under quarantine and 500 others are in hospitals around the country. The cities of Batumi and Kutaisi, which were put on lockdown on April 15 to contain the spread of COVID-19, have reopened earlier today.
Public service halls and community centres will resume work starting tomorrow throughout Georgia. Individuals who want to receive service, should book a visit time on the website www.mygov.ge. Georgian Justice Minister said that underage individuals will not be allowed to enter community centres and public service halls throughout the country.
Frontline health workers, local civil servants and other risk groups in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi and the regions will receive a total of 40,000 protective face shields produced by Georgian company CaucasPack.
More people have recovered than were infected with COVID-19 in Georgia over the past several days. Georgia has reported six new cases of coronavirus earlier today, bringing the total number of cases to 610. 269 of the 610 patients have recovered, while nine others have died. As of today 330 people remain infected with coronavirus in Georgia, while the number stood at 353 yesterday. Head of the National Disease Control Centre of Georgia Amiran Gamkrelidze says that Georgia is hitting the seventh week since the first reported case of community transmission of the virus on March 23.
Georgia has allocated 89,900,000 GEL (about $28.09m/€26.02m) for the implementation of a health programme for 2020 to manage COVID-19. Quarantine spaces, except for the Abastumani Lung Center, will receive not more than 100 GEL per day for each beneficiary.
The rate of coronavirus infection has slowed in Georgia over the past several days, with Georgia reporting just five new cases of coronavirus earlier today, while the figure stood at six yesterday and 11 on May 5. The total number of coronavirus cases is 615 as of May 7. 275 of the 615 patients have recovered, while nine have died. As of today 331 remain infected with COVID-19 in Georgia. Director of Tbilisi Hospital of Infectious Diseases Marina Ezugbaia says that the number of recovered people is coming close to the number of the patients who are being treated in hospitals for coronavirus.
Georgian doctors have used plasmapheresis, a method of treating blood plasma, to cure a COVID-19 patient who was in critical condition.
Georgia has a total of 626 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 297 recoveries and ten deaths, which the Head of Tbilisi Infectious Disease Hospital Tengiz Tsertsvadze says is ‘one of the best’ results in Europe. Director of the First University Clinic Levan Ratiani also stated yesterday that ‘this entire mess will end soon but we will have to continue living with this virus’.
Georgia has reported three new cases of coronavirus earlier today, bringing the total number of cases to 638.317 of the 638 patients have recovered, while 10 others have died. As of today 311 individuals remain infected with COVID-19 in Georgia. Tbilisi, which has been on coronavirus lockdown since April 15, reopened earlier today.All kinds of manufacturing operations have also resumed in Georgia today.
World Health Organisation programme director Michael Ryan gave high marks to Georgia's ongoing response to the coronavirus outbreak and noted the country's "very strong and proud tradition" in public health as an element in its success in a media briefing on Wednesday.
Three people have tested positive in Georgia over the last 24 hours, increasing the total number of confirmed cases to 808. However, with 13 more recoveries the number of infected individuals has decreased to 132.
Five more individuals have tested positive for the coronavirus in Georgia since this morning, increasing the number of total confirmed cases to 827. Head of Georgia’s National Disease Control Centre Amiran Gamkrelidze said the sources of infection in the five new cases is unknown so far.
The Georgian parliament has approved the first reading of bill earlier today which fines individuals by 20 GEL for not wearing face masks in closed public areas.
The UK PM Boris Johnson has sent a letter to Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia and thanked him for the participation in the Global Vaccine Summit on June 4.