AstraZeneca vaccination to be given to individuals over 55 years of age in Georgia
The delivery of the AstraZeneca vaccination will continue in Georgia as 'the circle of people over 55 is quite wide'. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
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Georgian health officials have decided to continue vaccination with AstraZeneca only for individuals over 55 years of age following statements from the European Medicines Agency and the World Health Organisation that say that unusual blood clots should be listed as a very rare side effect of the AstraZeneca vaccine for Covid-19.
Today, the board of experts discussed and recommended continuing vaccination with AstraZeneca in the age group over 55, no further expansion will be made in terms of age group for AstraZeneca", Georgian deputy Health Minister Tamar Gabunia said.
She said that the delivery of the AstraZeneca vaccination will continue in Georgia as 'the circle of people over 55 is quite wide'.
AstraZeneca has quite good results in the elderly", Gabunia added.
In the UK alone, as of March 31 there had been 79 reports of rare blood clots with low platelets, some in the brain, it was revealed on Wednesday.
Of those affected, 19 people died, although it is not known if the blood clots were the cause in every case.
More were women (51 women) and they were all aged 18-79. Three were under 30.
In older age groups, experts believe, the benefits of vaccination significantly outweigh the rare side-effect risk.
Georgia has reported 761 new cases of coronavirus, 537 recoveries and nine deaths in the past 24 hours.
Three employees of Imedi hospital in the southwestern Georgian town of Akhaltsikhe have been charged by the Prosecutor’s Office for providing false information about the recent death of 27-year-old nurse Megi Bakradze.
Georgian Deputy Health Minister Tamar Gabunia says that if the public will not observe coronavirus recommendations and rules the government will have to reimpose restrictions. She stated that coronavirus cases are surging in Georgia and that the country ‘is technically ready’ for a third wave of coronavirus. However, Gabunia said that ‘doctors are very much stressed and tired’ and it will be ‘hard for them’ to serve thousands of Covid-19 patients on a daily basis.
The Chinese government will gift Georgia 100,000 doses of Sinovac vaccine in April, head of Georgia’s National Centre for Disease Control Amiran Gamkrelidze stated earlier today. Georgia received 100,000 doses of Chinese Sinopharm vaccine last week and the country has plans to purchase the Chinese Sinovac vaccine in April, Gamkrelidze said. He stated that both vaccines are likely to be approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in mid-April and Georgia will launch vaccination only after.
Georgia has reported a total of 506 new cases of Covid-19 after conducting 25,752 (including 9,982 PCR and 15,769 rapid) tests over the last 24 hours. Out of the 506 new cases 240 were reported in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi.
Head of the Georgian National Centre for Disease Control Amiran Gamkrelidze says that as in many countries of the world a third wave of Covid-19 has started in Georgia as well.
Georgia has reported 1,374 new cases of coronavirus, 422 recoveries and 11 deaths in the past 24 hours.37,524 tests have been conducted around the country in the past 24 hours. 28,078 of the 37,524 tests were rapid tests, while the remaining 9,446 were PCR tests. 2.46 per cent of tested individuals had the virus in the past 14 days.
Georgian Health Minister Ekaterine Tikaradze says that if more than four per cent of tested individuals test positive for coronavirus in two consecutive weeks, the government of Georgia is likely to impose coronavirus restrictions, including lockdown.
Georgia has reported 1,030 new cases of coronavirus, 706 recoveries and seven deaths in the past 24 hours.
Georgia has reported 1,226 new cases of coronavirus, 688 recoveries and 10 deaths in the past 24 hours. 27,995 tests have been conducted around the country in the past 24 hours. 13,456 of the 27,995 tests were rapid tests, while the remaining 15,539 were PCR tests. The country has had 300,264 cases of coronavirus since February 26, 2020. 3.55 per cent of tested individuals had Covid-19 in the past 14 days.
The UK variant of the coronavirus now accounts for 80% of Covid-19 cases in Georgia, says Head of the Georgian National Centre for Disease Control Amiran Gamkrelidze.
Individuals over 45 years of age will be able to get vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine, Deputy Health Minister Tamar Gabunia announced today.
Georgia has received 43,200 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine this morning. These 43,200 doses of the vaccine will be administered to individuals registered for the second jab, the Georgian Ministry of Health says.
Georgia will neither buy, nor receive from donors the British AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine ‘as the demand for the vaccine is very low in the country,’ head of Georgia’s National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Amiran Gamkrelidze stated earlier today.