Head of NCDC: ‘COVID-19 vaccine will initially be available for medics, epidemiologists, elderly people in nursing homes’
Tedros Adhanom Gebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), promised Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia on December 27 that he will help Georgia receive a primary batch of vaccine doses as soon as possible. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
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Once Georgia receives the coronavirus vaccine, it will initially be available to medics, epidemiologists and elderly people in nursing homes, said Head of the National Disease Control Centre Amiran Gamkrelidze today.
Once medics, epidemiologists and elderly people in nursing homes are vaccinated, the vaccine will be then available for people over 75, individuals over 65 and then for the population under 55 with various chronic diseases”, said Gamkrelidze.
Tedros Adhanom Gebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), promised Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia on December 27 that he will help Georgia receive a primary batch of vaccine doses as soon as possible.
Georgia is expected to receive the coronavirus vaccine via the COVID-19 the Vaccines Global Access Facility (Covax) platform in spring 2021.
However, during a conversation between Gebreyesus and Gakharia it was noted that Georgia is actively negotiating with international partners and pharmaceutical companies to receive the vaccine even before.
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia and Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Gebreyesus spoke of the global pandemic, Georgia’s efforts to curb spread of coronavirus and the vaccination process during a phone conversation earlier today.
The Government of Georgia is determining high risks groups of vaccination after Georgia receives the coronavirus vaccine. Georgian Prime Minister stated yesterday that it is important to start vaccination in the country as soon as possible, using ‘safe and qualitative’ vaccine approved by the United States and the European Union.
Georgia is expected to receive the coronavirus vaccine either in March or April 2021 via the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access Facility (Covax), the head of Georgia’s National Centre for Disease Control, Amiran Gamkrelidze, stated earlier today.
Georgia is holding negotiations with British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and public–private global health partnership Gavi to receive the coronavirus vaccine if and when it becomes available, head of Georgia’s National Centre for Disease Control Amiran Gamkrelidze stated earlier today. He said that the vaccine developed by the UK Oxford Group, in partnership with AstraZeneca, is ‘enormously promising.’
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.
Georgia has reported 1,357 new cases of coronavirus, 748 recoveries and 21 deaths in the past 24 hours. 13,360 individuals remain infected with Covid-19 in Georgia as of today. 15,891 tests have been conducted in the past 24 hours around the country. 8,767 of the 15,891 tests were rapid tests, while the remaining 7,124 were PCR tests. Georgia has had 244,612 cases of coronavirus since February 2020. 228,359 of the 244,612 individuals have recovered, while 2,867 others have died.
The vaccination of non-risk groups against coronavirus will start in summer or early autumn, said Deputy Head of NCDC Paata Imnadze earlier today.
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 will receive first doses of Covid-19 vaccine in early March instead of February, said Tengiz Tsertsvadze today.