Leader of European Georgia opposition party Giorgi Kandelaki has stated that Latvia has gifted 50,000 doses of the British AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine to Georgia which the Georgian government refused to take. 

Kandelaki has criticized the government for the decision ‘amid the severe epidemiological situation’ in the country, noting that the country could have used the vaccine for the school personnel to ensure in-person studies. 

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has stated that the AstraZeneca vaccine ‘is not very popular in Georgia’ and that the government has brought in the vaccines which are ‘most liked’ by the public.  

He said that there are three million doses of vaccines available in the country and the government has plans to provide additional doses of the German-US Pfizer vaccine. 

AstraZeneca was the first vaccine which entered the country in March 2021. 

However, the death of a nurse in the country’s Akhaltsikhe region with the severe allergic reaction developed after the vaccination and the failure of doctors to address the issue in a professional and a timely manner, hampered the vaccination process. 

Pfizer, Sinovac, Sinopharm and AstraZeneca vaccines are available in the country as of today.

More than 1.2 million individuals in Georgia  with a 3.7 million population have received their one dose of the vaccine so far.