Vaccination against COVID-19 begins in Georgia

Vaccination against COVID-19 has begun in Georgia.

At the first stage, the vaccine will be given to doctors.

Well-known doctors were vaccinated live on TV earlier today. One of the first to do so was Paata Imnadze, deputy head of the National Center for Disease Control.

“There is nothing dangerous in vaccination,” Paata Imnadze said after getting the jab.

“And today is an important day for our country. Today is the beginning of the end of the epidemic. Everyone should understand that this vaccine is the only way to bring our country back to normal life.”

Marina Ezugbaia, Director of the Infectious Diseases Hospital, also called on the public to get vaccinated and thus protect oneself and the country:

“People can agree to get vaccinated or not. But those who are actually against vaccination are in some way opposed to the country. I urge the opponents of vaccination to put aside their fears and still get vaccinated, as it will protect themselves, their families and the country.”

Amiran Gamkrelidze, director of the National Center for Disease Control, was also present at the vaccination at the Republican Hospital. According to him, the beginning of vaccination is very good. But the main thing is to finish the process.

“This year 600-700 million people are to be vaccinated all over the world. And if we do this, we will return to a normal rhythm of life,” Gamkrelidze said.

AstraZeneca statement: risk of thrombosis due to vaccination not confirmed

Several European countries have refused the AstraZeneca vaccine due to the fact that some patients developed thrombosis after vaccination.

More than 17 million people in the EU and the UK have already been vaccinated, say British-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca. And monitoring of their condition showed that the vaccine is safe and the risk of developing thrombosis has not been confirmed in any age group.

The company also says that of the 17 million people vaccinated, only 15 have been diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis and 22 have been diagnosed with pulmonary embolism. And this cannot be a contraindication to the use of the vaccine, since the number of reported cases of blood clots is lower than the hundreds of cases that would be expected in the general population.

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On March 13, Georgia received 43,200 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine through the international COVAX vaccine distribution platform. This vaccine is produced by the South Korean company AstraZeneca-SKBio.

This is the first batch of vaccine received by Georgia.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) assisted the Georgian government in purchasing the vaccine. The vaccination process in Georgia will begin in 82 medical institutions of the country.