Georgia to receive about 100,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccine in April
By Nika Gamtsemlidze
Monday, March 29
The head of the National Center for Disease Control Amiran Gamkrelidze said in an interview with Georgian Public Broadcaster that Georgia should receive about 100,000 doses of Chinese Sinopharm vaccine in April.
According to him, the country also continues negotiations with other companies, such as Pfizer, Novavax, Johnson & Johnson, as well as with others.
29,250 doses of Pfizer vaccine were delivered to Georgia on the morning of March 25. Thus, the Georgian was able to get vaccinated against coronavirus by choosing between two, AstraZeneca and Pfizer.
Gamkrelidze also said that it would be a huge shame for the country if “we can't use up the doses that are available right now.” He said that if more people in the risk groups don't volunteer to get jabbed, mass vaccination would be discussed.
Gamkrelidze has recently talked about mass vaccination in the country and noted that, most probably, mass vaccination in the country should begin after July.
Today, medical workers and citizens over 65 have the opportunity to be vaccinated in Georgia. However, Deputy Health Minister Tamar Gabunia does not rule out the possibility of including citizens over 55 in the vaccination process.
According to the National Center for Disease Control, as of March 26 14:00, 4,152 people have been vaccinated, and 11,273 people have been registered on the vaccination portal, booking.moh.gov.ge.
The number of confirmed cases has drastically increased in Europe over the last few days, resulting in several countries, including Germany, Italy, Netherlands, and France expanding lockdowns.
According to the Minister of Health Ekaterine Tikaradze, the third wave is expected, and adopting further restrictions is not ruled out.
“The third wave of coronavirus is expected, and the increasing numbers give us the suspicion and reason to significantly tighten all of the measures. By this, I mean, first of all, wearing face masks, social distancing, and personal hygiene,” said Tikaradze.
On Sunday, 365 new cases were reported in the country. In total, Georgia has reported 280,301 cases.
