Covid-19 vaccination with the Chinese Sinovac vaccine will start in Georgia next week, Head of Georgia’s National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Amiran Gamkrelidze said today.
Gamkrelidze stated that the World Health Organisation (WHO) approval for Sinovac is still pending, but the vaccine has a very good initial assessment of WHO expert advisory committee.
We [epidemiologists, medical workers] discussed the issue at the last Immunisation Council meeting. Sinovac is the second Chinese vaccine introduced in the international arena. China donated 100,000 doses of the vaccine to Georgia. In general. Over 100 million people in China and various countries have been vaccinated with Sinovac”, said Gamkrelidze.
WHO recommends the Sinovac vaccine for adults 18 years and older, in a two-dose schedule with a spacing of two to four weeks.
Unlike Sinopharm, the second dose of Sinovac could be administered sooner, with an interval of 14 to 28 days.