Deputy Health Minister: face mask usage at 28%, flu shots free until December 1

NCDC head urged the public to wear face masks. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge

Agenda.ge, 24 Nov 2021 - 18:21, Tbilisi,Georgia

Georgian Deputy Minister of Health Tamar Gabunia has said earlier today that face mask usage in the country amounts to 28%, while flu shots will be free of charge until December 1 and can be administered alongside Covid-19 vaccines.

Gabunia added that public mobility in Georgia has increased 2% which ‘directly feeds the epidemic.’

Taking a gap between the flu and Covid vaccines is not recommended. Both can be administered simultaneously. However, if a patient thinks that they need a gap, it is also acceptable, she said.

The head of the National Centre for Disease Control and Public Health Amiran Gamkrelidze urged the public to wear face masks.

If 90%, 95% of the population [wears face masks], we will spare the lives of about 200-300 people by January, Gamkrelidze told the press.

Criticism

Intensive care specialist and member of the European Georgia political party Vakhtang Kaloyan criticized health officials’ efforts in managing the pandemic, saying that the government should stop making ‘politically motivated’ decisions.

Unfortunately, we set daily anti-records in managing the pandemic. Now we are among the leaders in terms of deaths. This dynamic will not stop. Neither infection nor death rates will decrease until the government stops making populist decisions while managing the pandemic, he said.

Kaloyan added that a ‘very active’ information campaign should be carried out in order to promote vaccination among the public.

Official data

Georgia reported 3,201 new Covid-19 cases, 64 deaths, and 4,098 recoveries in the last 24 hours. The positivity rate among tested individuals for the last two weeks stands at 9.15%.

1,117,964 people in Georgia have received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine, while 984,539 individuals (approximately 33% of the population) have been fully vaccinated, health ministry reports.