On 15 March, Georgian health officials and doctors received their first doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine.

The Deputy Head of the National Centre for Disease Control Paata Imnadze, was the first person to receive the vaccine. “Today is an important day in our country, the beginning of the end of the epidemic. The vaccine is the only way for the country to return to normal life. Immunisation is important for the country; the pandemic can be defeated only by immunisation when 60-70% of the population of any country is vaccinated to form a layer of immunity. In that case, the infection must be overcome,” he stated after receiving the vaccine. 

Georgia received 43,200 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine on 13 March with the help of UNICEF. Next week Georgia is expected to receive 29,250 doses US-German Pfizer vaccine. The Head of Georgia's National Centre for Disease Control Amiran Gamkrelidze has stated that if at least 1,600,000 people in the country receive their vaccines this year, Georgia will return to the normal way of living. 

It should also be noted that several government restrictions were lifted on the same day, including the use of gyms, in-person teaching in auditoriums of higher and vocational schools, the functioning of school extracurricular activities, as well as the resumption of rehearsals and trainings in theatres, sports clubs and professional ensembles. The ongoing curfew from 9pm to 5am has not been lifted.

The EU ambassador to Georgia Carl Hartzell expressed his delight with the start of vaccination in the country. “The EU and our partners in Team Europe are the biggest supporters of COVAX and have committed over 2.2 billion euro to ensure fair distribution of vaccines. I am proud that a key country like Georgia is one of the first to receive deliveries through this facility. The next step is to start vaccinating. Here I am also proud that the EU and WHO are supporting the Government with training, advice, and logistic support to roll-out the vaccines as quickly and efficiently as possible to those in need,” he stated. 

“Since the start of the pandemic, the EU and Team Europe have been Georgia’s strongest supporters, providing financial assistance both to Government anti-covid measures, and also directly to the health, social, and private sectors. This is one of the highest EU support packages per capita in the world, and demonstrates the solidarity of the EU with Georgians,” Hartzell added. 

In the past 24 hours, Georgia reported 159 new cases of the virus and 2 deaths, bringing the total tally to 275,148 cases and 3,650 deaths.