13 member states call on EU to help Georgia, other eastern neighbours receive COVID-19 vaccine soon
EU member states call on the European Commission to work on a support package for EaP states enabling them receive the vaccination. Photo: N. Jankauskas/LRT
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Foreign Ministers of 13 member states of the European Union have called on the European Commission ‘to set up a support mechanism’ to allow the Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries - Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine - ‘secure early access to COVID-19 vaccine’.
The letter to EU High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides and Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi was initiated by Lithuania and signed by the FMs of Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Sweden.
The EU is not safe until all the EU neighbours are safe, including also our Eastern European Partners. I believe that the current vaccine shortage is temporary and all member states will be gradually given access to a planned quantity of doses of COVID-19 vaccines”, Lithuanian FM Gabrielius Landsbergis said.
We are #StrongerTogether.EU should ensure that our #EaP neighbours are not left out from #COVID19 #vaccines provision support. Together w/????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????we call @EU_Commission to work on a support package for #EaP states. EU is safe only when all our neighbours are safe. pic.twitter.com/NQckjmqVYn
— Lithuania MFA (@LithuaniaMFA) January 6, 2021
The foreign ministers note in their joint letter that the EU leaders 'have discussed and agreed to further co-lead the international response to the pandemic globally and to help other non-EU countries by providing affordable and fair access to the COVID-19 vaccine for all'.
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The signatory countries 'strongly support the efforts and initiatives' by the EU member states and the European Commission 'to share the vaccines from the allocated contracts' with the closest EU neighbours, such as the Western Balkan countries.
At the same time they 'believe that the EU has to go beyond the current initiatives and give similar attention and support' to the other EU neighbours – the countries of EaP – 'if they wish so'.
We believe that our borders will not be safe if we do not extend our support to our immediate neighbours. Our Eastern Partners have on numerous occasions expressed their appreciation for the EU’s COVID-related assistance and pleaded for facilitated access to the vaccine", the foreign ministers declared.
Meanwhile, today the European Commission has announced that the second COVID-19 vaccine has been authorised:
We have just authorised the second COVID-19 vaccine!
— European Commission ???????? (@EU_Commission) January 6, 2021
Following the recommendation of the European Medicines Agency, we have granted a conditional marketing authorisation for the Moderna vaccine for all EU countries.#SafeVaccines #StrongerTogether
Georgian Deputy Health Minister Tamar Gabunia also said earlier today that Georgia is expected to receive Moderna, Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines for COVID-19 virus. After Georgia receives the coronavirus vaccine, it will initially be available for elderly people.
Georgia has reported 1,800 new cases of coronavirus, 489 recoveries and 20 deaths over the last 24 hours. As of now, a total of 7,911 individuals remain infected.
After Georgia receives the coronavirus vaccine, it will initially be available for elderly people in Georgia, said Deputy Health Minister of Georgia Tamar Gabunia earlier today.
An inmate in Ksani Penitentiary Facility No. 15 has died of coronavirus, Justice Minister Gocha Lortkipanidze said earlier today.
Georgia has reported 1,800 new cases of coronavirus, 489 recoveries and 20 deaths in the past 24 hours. 14,839 tests have been conducted in the past 24 hours around the country. 8,253 of the 14,839 tests were rapid tests, while the remaining 6,586 were PCR tests. Georgia has had 233,879 cases of coronavirus since February 2020. 223,276 of the 233,879 individuals have recovered, while 2,666 others have died.
"These are very difficult times not only for the EU, but for our partner countries as well. We are doing all we can to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on human lives and livelihoods. We are responding both to the immediate needs of the health systems, as well as longer term needs to the most vulnerable groups in society and small and medium-sized enterprises, which are the backbone of the economies in the six countries,” Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi said.
Four of 46 inmates checked for coronavirus on January 6 in Tbilisi tested positive, reports the Special Penitentiary Service.
Georgia has reported a total of 2,058 new cases of coronavirus after conducting 7,054 PCR tests and 11,095 antigen tests over the last 24 hours. Meanwhile, 529 individuals have recovered from the virus and 22 others have died. Out of the new 2,058 cases 808 were reported in the Georgian capital of Georgia.
Georgia has reported 1,143 new cases of coronavirus after conducting a total of 11,155 tests over the last 24 hours. Out of the 11,155 tests conducted over the last 24 hours 4,397 were PCR tests and 6,758 were rapid tests.
Georgia has reported 551 new cases of coronavirus, 880 recoveries and 23 deaths in the past 24 hours. 10,743 individuals remain infected with Covid-19 in Georgia as of today.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili, who is on a two-day visit to Brussels, has met with EU officials earlier today. Tomorrow the Georgian President will meet with the NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
During a meeting with the President of European Parliament David Sassoli, Georgian president Salome Zurabishvili asked him to allow the same tuition for Georgian students as EU students across the 27 EU member states.
The first doses of Pfizer vaccine that will be administered to health workers are due to arrive in Georgia by late February. Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia has made an announcement following his phone conversation with the World Health Organisation head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus earlier today.
Georgia will get 1.4 million doses of vaccine via the Covax (COVID-19 vaccines Global Access Facility) platform and will purchase the remaining two million doses through negotiations with EU countries and vaccine manufacturers, Deputy Health Minister of Georgia Tamar Gabunia said earlier today.
The European Union (EU) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) have handed over 10 intensive care ventilators and 1,000 items of protective equipment to COVID-19 hospitals in Georgia for the treatment and care of Covid-patients.