Additional doses of AstraZeneca vaccine arrive in Georgia
By Nika Gamtsemlidze
Friday, May 7
Yesterday morning, Georgia received 43200 additional doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine for people who have already received the first dose of AstraZeneca. The registration for the second dose of the vaccine started on May 5 through a special online portal. The vaccination will begin on May 10.
Vaccination using AstraZeneca started in Georgia on March 15, and, from April 5, people over 55 were able to get jabbed. The first 43200 doses of the vaccine arrived in Georgia on March 13.
According to Amiran Gamkrelidze, the director of the National Center for Disease Control and Public Health, 25,500 people have already received the vaccine, and about 10,000 are registered to receive their first dose.
Today, Georgia is using three vaccines, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and Sinopharm. Starting May 4, registration for the Sinopharm vaccine is open for everyone above 18. According to the official numbers, as of May 5, 47,949 people have already received the vaccine, out of which, more than 7000 people have received both doses.
According to Gamkrelidze, the interval between the two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine is 4-12 weeks.
Gamkrelidze said that people can start receiving their second dose of the vaccine after 4 weeks, however, it is recommended to do so after 8-12 weeks. He also added that “no one will be left without the second dose.”
As for Covid-19 cases, they are increasing very fast in the country. A few days ago, Georgia reported over 2000 Covid-19 cases in 23 hours. On May 6, 1806 new cases and 20 deaths were reported. In total, Georgia has recorded as many as 317,719 Covid-19 cases, out of which, 297,676 have recovered and 4227 have died. Most cases are reported in Tbilisi. At the moment, there are 15,790 active Covid-19 cases in the country.
