PM Gakharia: 60% of Georgian population to be vaccinated in 2021
PM Gakharia said that high risk groups will be vaccinated at the first stage. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
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The Georgian government expects to have vaccinated 60% of the country by the end of 2021, Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia announced at today's government meeting.
Gakharia said that high risk groups will be vaccinated at the first stage.
These will be medical workers, residents in long-term care facilities, our seniors over the age of 75 and then all of our fellow citizens over the age of 65 to 75", said Gakharia.
Gakharia said that Georgia is a member of the Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access Facility (Covax) which will provide vaccines to the country.
Georgia already announced its goal on this platform five-six months ago, to supply half a million vaccines to the country in the near future. We have already made payment. The main goal now is to get the healthcare system ready for this volume of vaccinations within a year", Gakharia said, adding that Georgia is technically ready to receive any authorised vaccine.
Gakharia also said that the government continues negotiations with Covid-19 vaccine producing companies, 'but we must keep in mind one thing - only vaccines that will be authorised by the World Health Organisation will be imported to Georgia'.
The vaccination of non-risk groups against coronavirus will start in summer or early autumn, said Deputy Head of NCDC Paata Imnadze earlier today.
Georgian Health Officials say that the country will be able to receive only 200,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine against coronavirus as of today as Georgia lacks refrigeration facilities to keep the vaccines in mandatory -80 degree conditions.
The Pfizer vaccine may be the first vaccine Georgia uses to combat the coronavirus in the near future, said Health Minister Ekaterine Tikaradze earlier today.
Georgia is technically ready to receive and ensure the appropriate storage of all three vaccines against coronavirus which have been internationally approved, Georgian Deputy Health Minister Tamar Gabunia stated earlier today.
Georgia has reported 903 new cases of coronavirus, 636 recoveries and 24 deaths in the past 24 hours. 10,189 individuals remain infected with Covid-19 in Georgia as of today. 14,827 tests have been conducted in the past 24 hours around the country.Georgia has had 251,974 cases of coronavirus since February 2020. 238,737 of the 251,974 individuals have recovered, while 3,022 others have died.
Several coronavirus-related restrictions will be lifted in Georgia in February and in March, following a plan approved at today's Interagency Coordination Council meeting. Georgian Infrastructure Minister and the first Deputy Prime Minister Maia Tskitishvili said that since there are signs of an easing of the epidemiological situation in some regions of Georgia, there is also the possibility of lifting several restrictions.
A total of 228,410 cases of Covid-19 were reported in Georgia between February 26, 2019 and December 31, 2020, reads the fifth review of the Covid-19 in Georgia, published by the National Center for Disease Control and Public Health.
Deputy Head of Georgia's National Centre for Disease Control Paata Imnadze says that 60% of the Georgian population should be vaccinated by autumn 2021 in order for the country to be prepared for the winter season.
Head of Infectious Diseases and AIDS Centre Tengiz Tsertsvadze says the reception of the first doses of Pfizer vaccine will mark 'the beginning of the end’ of the coronavirus pandemic. "Congratulations! It has been officially confirmed that Georgia will be one of the first developing countries to receive the first dose of the highest quality vaccine in the shortest time”, Tsertsvadze wrote in a Facebook post yesterday.
Head of Georgia’s National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Amiran Gamkrelidze said Georgia will receive the AstraZeneca vaccine after Pfizer.
About 14,000 individuals have been selected in Georgia to be vaccinated for coronavirus in the first stage and all of them are medical workers, announces Head of the National Disease Control Centre Amiran Gamkrelidze.
Tbilisi Infectious Disease Hospital will conduct a study on post-acute COVID-19 syndrome among individuals who have contracted the virus in the last two months.
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia and healthcare experts have discussed earlier today how the country is preparing for Covid-19 vaccination and following the national vaccination plan, which aims to vaccinate 60% of the population by the end of this year.
While discussing the Covid-19 vaccination process with Director-General of the WHO Tedros Adanom Gebreisus, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has stated the government is doing its best for Georgia to receive first doses of vaccine as soon as possible.
As of today, 57,000 individuals have registered on a special website created by the Georgian Health Ministry to find out the number of those wishing to get vaccinated against coronavirus.
The national vaccination plan will need to aim to vaccinate 70 percent of the population by the end of July if health authorities in Georgia are to stop the pandemic in the country, Head of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Amiran Gamkrelidze said on Thursday.