Mass Covid-19 immunisation to start in Georgia in July

Georgia will likely receive Chinese coronavirus vaccines Sinopharm next month, announces deputy Health Minister of Georgia Tamar Gabunia. She said that in addition, negotiations are underway to receive additional doses of the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines.

Vaccination with Pfizer will be allowed in four clinics of Tbilisi: Republican Hospital, Bokeria clinic, Caucasus Medical Centre and Amtel hospital, in two clinics of Kutaisi and in Batumi Republican Hospital in the Adjara region. Individuals receiving either the AstraZeneca or Pfizer vaccines against Covid-19 will have to stay at clinics for 45 minutes, instead of 30 minutes to be observed if there are any adverse effects. 

Individuals receiving either the AstraZeneca or Pfizer vaccines against Covid-19 will have to stay at clinics for 45 minutes, instead of 30 minutes to be observed if there are any adverse effects, announces deputy Health Minister of Georgia Tamar Gabunia.

Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist at the World Health Organisation in Geneva, Switzerland has commented on the death of a nurse after receiving AstraZeneca vaccination in Georgia, saying that in order to minimise the risks of anaphylaxis, vaccination should be done in an environment where there are doctors and all necessary medicines.

Medical workers and individuals above 65 residing in Georgia’s Russia-occupied Tskhinvali and Abkhazia regions will be able to undergo Covid-19 vaccination on Tbilisi-controlled territory, Minister for Reconciliation and Civil Equality, Tea Akhvlediani said earlier today.

The de-facto leadership of Russian occupied Georgian regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) have rejected an offer from Tbilisi to vaccinate health workers and people above 65. Both occupied regions have stated in response to the offer from the Georgian officials earlier today that they are expecting to receive ‘reliable’ vaccines from Russia.

Georgia has reported 616 new cases of coronavirus, 268 recoveries and five deaths in the past 24 hours. In total 31,947 tests have been conducted around the country in the past 24 hours, of which 20,364 were rapid tests, while the remaining 11,583 were PCR tests. 

Representative of the de facto president of the occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region on post-conflict issues, Murat Jioev, said Georgia is offering a quantity of vaccine that is not enough for the region and ‘this is nothing more than political propaganda’.

Georgia will receive 200,000 doses of two Chinese vaccines this Saturday, Head of the National Center for Disease Control and Public Health Amiran Gamkrelidze announced earlier today. Georgia bought 100,000 doses of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine, while another 100,000 doses of the Sinovac vaccine were gifted by China to Georgia.

A total of 81 new cases of Covid-19 have been reported in Georgia’s eastern Kaspi municipality within the last six days.

The Georgian government is negotiating with Covid-19 vaccine manufacturers and is going to import an additional one million doses of Pfizer in June or July, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said today.

Georgian, Ukrainian and Moldovan PMs have sent a joint letter to the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen to request the EU’s support in acquiring coronavirus vaccines. 

Georgia has reported 1,233 new cases of coronavirus, 1,002 recoveries and 31 deaths in the past 24 hours. 

Georgia has reported 954 new cases of coronavirus, 896 recoveries and 30 deaths in the past 24 hours. 30,603 tests were conducted around the country in the past 24 hours. 18,444 of the 30,603 tests were rapid tests, while the remaining 12,159 were PCR tests. The country has had 346,150 cases of coronavirus since February 26, 2020. 3.23 per cent of tested individuals had Covid-19 in the past 14 days.

Georgia has reported 779 new cases of coronavirus, 959 recoveries and 23 deaths in the past 24 hours. 30,026 tests were conducted around the country in the past 24 hours. 15,527 of the 30,026 tests were rapid tests, while the remaining 14,999 were PCR tests. The country has had 347,762 cases of coronavirus since February 26, 2020. 3.06 per cent of tested individuals had Covid-19 in the past 14 days.

Covid-19 vaccination centres will be set up in shopping malls starting July, Deputy Health Minister Tamar Gabunia announced earlier today.

An anti-vaxxer has beaten up his wife after she received a Covid-19 vaccine, executive director of women rights organisation Sapari, Baia Pataraia, wrote on her Facebook page.

Georgia will receive one million doses of Sinopharm and Sinovac Covid-19 vaccines by the end of the week, Georgian Health Minister Ekaterine Tikaradze has stated earlier today.

One million doses of Chinese Sinopharm and Sinovac Covid-19 vaccines have arrived in Georgia and the country is starting mass vaccination on July 5, announces Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili. In addition, Garibashvili announced that one million doses of Pfizer vaccine will be gradually introduced in the country starting July.

“The bed capacity of intensive care units for Covid-19 patients has reached its limit”, Georgian Health Minister Ekaterine Tikaradze announced earlier today.

Two new mass vaccination centres have opened in Georgia, where people can get vaccination without any prior registration. One vaccination centre was opened at the Mtskheta-Mtianeti regional sports complex, while the other was opened at Georgian Technical University, in the capital city of Tbilisi. 

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has announced today that the government is working to bring another 2 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine to Georgia. He said that if the pace of vaccination continues at this rate 'we can expect 2 million people to be vaccinated by the end of September'.