Health Minister: 'A week before Easter we will come up with a plan'

Health Minister of Georgia Ekaterine Tikaradze stated yesterday that by the week leading to the Orthodox Easter, the government will come up with a plan on how to manage public health and welfare during the holidays:

“At this stage, we are working very hard, but the virus is spreading. Approximately a week before Easter we will have a much clearer understanding of the situation in the country, and we will have a plan of what to do next,” Tikaradze stated. She added that despite the growing number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Georgia, the ministry will do its best to manage the situation without having to impose further restrictions.

Tikaradze also addressed the recent arrival of the Chinese anti-coronavirus vaccine Sinopharm in Georgia. She said that the credibility and effectiveness of the vaccine are unquestionable:

“Over 40 million people have already been vaccinated with Sinopharm and, to this day, there are no questions raised about its efficacy."

The minister noted that Georgia is waiting for the vaccine to receive official approval from the World Health Organization (WHO), and once approved, the vaccine may be available by April 15.

Head of the National Center for Disease Control Amiran Gamkrelidze noted that the reason why the number of confirmed cases in Georgia is currently surging is because of the slow pace of implementation of the nationwide vaccination plan, as well as people’s reluctance to wear masks:

“We need to accelerate the vaccination process. As of today, only 11,603 people have been vaccinated. We have an average of 1,000 vaccinations administered per day. Now it is a little over 1,000 vaccinations per day, but that's not enough. At this point, we need at least 3,000 vaccinations a day,” Gamkrelidze explained.

The nationwide vaccination program in Georgia began on March 15, and it is currently conducted using AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines. The country has recently acquired doses of Sinopharm vaccines, but it will not be used until it receives official approval from the WHO.