WHO approves Sinopharm vaccine for emergency use in all countries
Tweet 
Share
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has approved the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine for emergency use in all countries, giving the green light for this vaccine to be rolled out globally, including in Georgia.
WHO today listed the Sinopharm #COVID19 vaccine for emergency use in all countries, a prerequisite for a potential #COVAX roll-out. Interim policy recommendations were also issued for the vaccine usage.
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) May 7, 2021
???? https://t.co/wuvNptP1LV pic.twitter.com/hm6TlpLJSy
The Sinopharm is an inactivated vaccine called SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine (Vero Cell), produced by Beijing Bio-Institute of Biological Products Co Ltd, subsidiary of China National Biotec Group (CNBG).
The addition of this vaccine has the potential to rapidly accelerate COVID-19 vaccine access for countries seeking to protect health workers and populations at risk,” Dr Mariângela Simão, WHO Assistant-Director General for Access to Health Products said.
We urge the manufacturer to participate in the COVAX Facility and contribute to the goal of more equitable vaccine distribution", he added.
WHO recommends the vaccine for adults 18 years and older, in a two-dose schedule with a spacing of three to four weeks. Vaccine efficacy for symptomatic and hospitalised disease was estimated to be 79%, all age groups combined.
The emergency use listing procedure assesses the quality, safety & efficacy of #COVID19 vaccines, as well as risk management plans & programmatic suitability, such as cold chain requirements. For the Sinopharm vaccine, on-site inspections of the production facility were conducted pic.twitter.com/p7eM9wHZ8a
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) May 7, 2021
Georgia received the first 100,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccine on April 3, while Sinopharm vaccination started a month later on May 4 a couple of days before it received WHO's green light.
Vaccination is currently underway with Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Sinopharm vaccines in all regions of Georgia. However, those eligible for vaccination should visit booking.moh.gov.ge or call 15 22 to get registered.
Meanwhile, Georgia is expecting to receive additional 100,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccine from Georgia Red Cross with the support of the International Federation of Red Cross, Red Crescent societies and The Red Cross Society of China.
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 received the 100,000 doses of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine earlier today. However, Sinopharm vaccination will not start until it received approval from the World Health Organisation.
Head of Georgia’s National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Amiran Gamkrelidze has received the Chinese Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine live on TV earlier today. Georgia received 100,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine, which is an inactivated vaccine, earlier in April. The vaccine has around a 78% efficacy rate and is likely to be approved by the World Health Organisation by the end of this week. Gamkrelidze stated that ‘it is symbolic I was the first who received the vaccine in Georgia,’ adding that that the vaccine has already been used in 45 foreign states.
Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani has thanked his Hungarian counterpart Péter Szijjártó for his contribution in ensuring the safe transportation of Chinese vaccines to Georgia. "I’m very grateful to you, dear Péter, for your contribution to ensure the safe transportation of Covid-19 vaccines to Georgia”, FM Zalkaliani wrote in response to Szijjártó in Facebook.
Georgia has reported 1,564 new cases of Covid-19 after conducting a total of 27,384 tests over the last 24 hours. Meanwhile, 693 individuals have recovered from coronavirus in Georgia while 18 patients have died.
Georgia has reported a total of 1,089 new cases of Covid-19 after conducting 18,662 tests over the last 24 hours. Out of the 1,089 new cases 607 were reported in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi.
Georgia has reported 549 new cases of coronavirus, 1,439 recoveries and 24 deaths in the past 24 hours. 9,535 tests have been conducted around the country on the weekend. 5,665 of the 9,535 tests were rapid tests, while the remaining 3,870 were PCR tests. The country has had 322,468 cases of coronavirus since February 26, 2020. 6.03 per cent of tested individuals had Covid-19 in the past 14 days.
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 reported 1,409 new cases of coronavirus, 1,256 recoveries and 27 deaths in the past 24 hours. In total, 40,275 tests have been conducted around the country of which 27,699 tests were rapid tests, while the remaining 12,576 were PCR tests.
Municipal transport, schools and public kindergartens have resumed operations across Georgia starting today. The decision was taken by the Interagency Coordination Council earlier today.
Registration for the first dose of Sinopharm vaccine starts 12 p.m. on booking.moh.gov.ge in Georgia. The World Health Organisation (WHO) approved the vaccine for emergency use in all countries, giving the green light for this vaccine to be rolled out globally, including in Georgia in early May.
Georgian citizens eligible for Sinopharm vaccination cannot register as the Ministry of Health vaccine registration page, booking.moh.gov.ge, has been shut down following a cyber attack.
Georgia will receive 100,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine donated by International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on September 11, Georgian Health Minister Ekaterine Tikaradze has stated today.
Georgia has received 100,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccine from the Georgia Red Cross Society, which is a gift from the Red Cross of China. Georgia Red Cross Society is actively involved in ‘timely, effective and safe implementation of the mass immunization’.