Pfizer vaccine delivered to Georgia, vaccination may be available to everyone

The first batch of Pfizer was delivered to Georgia, the coronavirus vaccine from the American company – 29,250 doses.

Until now, vaccination in the country was carried out only with the vaccine from the British-Swedish company AstraZeneca . Since in general there are very few people who want to get vaccinated, it is planned to change the rules and provide the opportunity to vaccinate to anyone who wants to.

In Georgia, it was initially stated that only vaccines approved by WHO and other regulatory bodies would be used, this would guarantee the quality, safety and efficacy of the drugs. Priority was given to medical workers – they began to be vaccinated on March 15. Vaccination will soon be offered to people over 65.

However, in Georgia there is an unprecedented passivity of the population in relation to the vaccination process.

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The first batch of AstraZeneca vaccine, 43,200 doses, was received on 13 March. But of the 70,000 health care workers who received this batch of vaccine, only 4,000 were vaccinated in the first week.

One of the reasons for people’s mistrust of the vaccine is the tragic death of a 27-year-old nurse who died of anaphylactic shock half an hour after being vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine in a clinic in Akhaltsikhe. Most likely, she had an acute allergic reaction to the drug, which is a very rare side effect.

Vaccinations with Pfizer will begin on March 30 and will be distributed across six clinics in three cities in Georgia – four in Tbilisi and one each in Batumi and Kutaisi, Deputy Health Minister Tamar Gabunia said.

Vaccination will most likely become available to all categories of the population from mid-April, according to the Ministry of Health. It is expected that from this time on, any citizen of the country can register on a special portal and be vaccinated. At the same time, citizens will be able to choose between AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines.

At the same time, the director of the infectious diseases hospital, Tengiz Tsertsvadze, did not rule out that vaccination would become available to all categories of citizens earlier than April.