Pfizer to be first vaccine Georgia receives against Covid-19

By Natalia Kochiashvili

Wednesday, January 13

The Ministry of Health says that the purchase of the Chinese vaccine is not being considered at this stage.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), collective immunity to the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 is unlikely this year.

The Minister of Health Ekaretire Tikaradze, announced that in the near future it will be possible to vaccinate the population with the Pfizer vaccine, during a meeting with the US Ambassador to Georgia. According to her, an important meeting was held with the ambassador, they discussed steps taken against the pandemic, epidemiological development and testing. The main topic of the meeting was the vaccine. “We are actively cooperating with the Covax platform and we have made some progress regarding the fact that in the near future it will be possible to vaccinate the population with the Pfizer vaccine,” Tikaradze said.

According to the Ministry of Health, US Ambassador Kelly Degnan emphasized that it is important to have a clear vaccination plan in Georgia.

Which vaccine against coronavirus would be available to Georgia depended on the choice of the Covax platform.

Georgia has already paid part of the amount needed to vaccinate 700 thousand people - $4 million.

“The Pfizer vaccine could be the first vaccine we receive, followed by the AstraZeneca vaccine - the two closest we can get through the Covax platform," said the First Deputy Health Minister Tamar Gabunia earlier today, noting that in the long run, it will be technologically easier for Georgia to get a vaccine that needs to be kept at 2 to 8 degrees and does not need to be kept at 70 degrees of celsius, which is the case with the Pfizer vaccine. She said that taking this into account, storing AstraZeneca will be technologically simpler.

Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is used in the USA, UK, Canada, and the EU. It is approved by the World Health Organization.

The Parliamentary Health Committee has debated and supported a package of legislative changes to be passed to the Bureau, which would include regulating the legal framework for vaccination against coronavirus.

At the meeting of the Health Committee, where the legislative changes were discussed, the Deputy Minister of Health reaffirmed that the vaccine needed to vaccinate 20% of the Georgian population from the Covax platform has already been ordered, and by the end of January the system will be ready to vaccinate citizens.