Georgia begins vaccination with Chinese Sinovac, soon to receive additional doses of AstraZeneca and Sinopharm vaccines

By Khatia Bzhalava

Tuesday, May 25

Chinese Sinovac is still waiting for WHO approval, however, the vaccine has a very good assessment from the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization.

According to the Head of Georgia’s National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) Amiran Gamkrelidze, negotiations are underway to receive Moderna and Novavax vaccines in the coming future.

On Monday, Georgia reported 338 coronavirus cases, 1,357 recoveries, and 17 deaths. Georgia’s total confirmed cases reached 337,961, among them, 319,956 people recovered and 4,639 died. As of May 24, the daily test-positive rate is 4.04%, for the last 14 days - 3.99%, and for 7 days - 4.19%.

The vaccination process against coronavirus with Chinese Sinovac started yesterday in Georgia. Currently, the country is also using AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and Sinopharm vaccines. According to the Ministry of Health, Sinovac is based on the traditional method and is recommended for people over the age of 18, in a two-dose schedule with a spacing of 21 days. As NCDC Deputy Head Paata Imnadze said, the Sinovac is an inactivated COVID-19 virus vaccine that may have mild side effects. Its efficacy in preventing hospitalization varies between 85 and 100%.

The World Health Organization (WHO) approval for Sinovac is expected shortly, but as the ministry of Health reports, the Sinovac vaccine has been positively evaluated by the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization. 100,000 doses of the Sinovac vaccine were gifted to Georgia by China.

It was reported yesterday that Georgia will receive an additional 43,200 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine in mid-June and will also import half a million doses of the Sinopharm vaccine by early July. According to the Head of Georgia’s National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Amiran Gamkrelidze, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) will donate 100,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine this summer to Georgia. According to him, Georgia is engaged in negotiations to receive Moderna and Novovax vaccines in the coming future.

According to WHO Program Manager for Immunization and Vaccination of Managed Diseases Siddhartha Datta, the fact that 4 different types of vaccines are available in the country shows the great efforts of the government in the process of managing Covid-19. Datta has also stressed that the government is trying to manage the process transparently.