Approximately 17,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine expired in Georgia

Up to 17,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine in Georgia vaccine have expired and will be disposed. This was stated by the director of the National Center for Disease Control of Georgia (NCDC) Amiran Gamkrelidze.

AstraZeneca is considered one of the best vaccines in the world. After vaccines made in China and Pfizer, it is the most commonly used vaccine in many countries.

According to Gamkrelidze, the authorities wanted to use AstraZeneca on a larger scale in Georgia, but the demand for it was low.

Of these 17,000 doses, 15,000 were received in aid.

AstraZeneca was the first vaccine that appeared in Georgia and with which the vaccination process began.

• Georgian doctors, scientists sound alarm over low vaccination rates

Vaccination against coronavirus in Georgia began on March 15. Vaccinations in the country are mainly carried out with four vaccines – the German-American Pfizer, the British AstraZeneca and the Chinese Sinopharm (Beijing) and Sinovak.

As Gamkrelidze explains, unlike AstraZeneka and Pfizer, Chinese-made vaccines have a shelf life of 2-3 years. In addition, a month ago, Pfizer decided to extend the shelf life of all Pfizer vaccines stored at minus 60-90 degrees Celsius by three months.

As of November 2, 1,982,593 vaccinations have been administered in Georgia. Of these, 1,038,193 people (36.5% of the adult population) were vaccinated with one dose. Only 33% of the adult population (942,397) are fully vaccinated with two doses.

According to the national plan, the country’s goal was to vaccinate 60% of the population by the end of the year. Recently, however, the country’s vaccination rate has dropped significantly.

If at the end of August more than 20,000 people were vaccinated per day, then recently an average of three thousand doses of vaccine were made per day. For example, on November 1, only 3,369 people were vaccinated.

According to Amiran Gamkrelidze, more effective measures are needed to increase the rate of vaccination.

“We cannot invent a new bicycle. If there is no strong incentive, or if we do not introduce any restrictions, more people will not be vaccinated voluntarily”, Gamkrelidze said.

On November 2, 5,553 new cases of coronavirus infection were registered in Georgia, another 47 people died.

The total number of deaths has already exceeded 10,000 – since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, 10,136 people have died in Georgia.