Georgia Begins Vaccination in Prisons, Tourism Sector Employees To Be Jabbed Next Week

The Georgian Ministry of Justice reported yesterday that in order to stop the spread of the COVID-19, the government will launch the vaccination process in the country’s penitentiary facilities. On May 18, inmates of the #5 Rustavi Prison Colony, #8 Gldani, and Geguti prisons will be vaccinated. It has also been reported that a total of 240 convicts from the aforementioned prisons have already expressed their desire to get vaccinated:

“The vaccination process is carried out under the supervision of medical staff and in full compliance with the recommendations of the Ministry of Health. Ambulance vehicles and medical staff mobilized at penitentiary institutions in order to respond quickly and effectively to any possible complications and side effects of the vaccine,” the ministry’s official statement reads. The ministry added that the process will gradually be carried out in all penitentiary facilities of Georgia.

Earlier yesterday, Deputy Minister of Health of Georgia Tamar Gabunia announced that the vaccination with Chinese Sinovac vaccine will be available for all individuals over 18 years of age starting from next week. She added that the National Center for Disease Control will announce the exact opening date for the vaccine registration within the next few days. Georgia currently has 100,000 doses of Sinovac, which were gifted to the country by the Chinese government, however, despite positive initial assessments, the vaccine has not yet acquired official authorization from the World Health Organization (WHO).

At yesterday’s briefing, Minister of Economy Natia Turnava stated that the vaccination of the employees of the tourism sector would begin this week. She explained that although the vaccination will be voluntary, those companies that choose to undergo the process, will be marked as ‘safe’ and will receive the government’s informational support and free marketing of their services:

“It is very important for the world to know that our tourism industry is safe; that’s the most important part of today’s agenda”, Turnava emphasized.

According to the National Center for Disease Control, 4,021 people have been vaccinated against the coronavirus within the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of vaccinated people in Georgia to 93,305.