Head of NCDC: ‘Indian Covid-19 strain hasn’t yet been laboratory-confirmed in Georgia'
WHO Europe Director Hans Kluge said during a news briefing on May 20 that authorised vaccines in the US and Europe ‘appear to be effective against variants of the disease’. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
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The Indian Covid-19 strain has not yet been laboratory-confirmed in Georgia, though studies are underway in the Lugar Laboratory of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) , said Head of NCDC Amiran Gamkrelidze.
The South African, Brazilian and Indian Covid-19 strains have already been laboratory-confirmed in various European countries. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) predicts that the Indian strain may replace the British strain, that’s why all the mentioned versions of the infection are being monitored daily in the Lugar Laboratory and we [epidemiologists] will let the public know as soon as the Indian or other variants are confirmed ”, said Gamkrelidze.
WHO Europe Director Hans Kluge said during a news briefing on May 20 that authorised vaccines in the US and Europe ‘appear to be effective against variants of the disease’.
???????? Watch LIVE as @hans_kluge and experts from WHO/Europe provide a situation update on #COVID19 in the European Region before answering questions from journalists https://t.co/K5zffW6tPY
— WHO/Europe (@WHO_Europe) May 20, 2021
A study by Public Health England found that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was 88 per cent effective against symptomatic disease from the Indian variant two weeks after the second dose, while two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine were 60 per cent effective against symptomatic disease from the Indian variant.