On March 19, Shota Apkhaidze published a post on his personal Facebook page, according to which Georgia has turned into a proving ground for testing the AstraZeneca vaccines “rejected” by international organizations. Noting that it has several reasons, Apkhaidze claims that AstraZeneca, a biopharmaceutical company, wants to repair its reputation, trying to turn Georgia into a model of “successful vaccination” through bribing the country’s health system. The author also names another reason, claiming that Lithuania rejected about 3 million doses of defective AstraZeneca vaccines and although the Georgian government received these vaccines from Lithuania free of charge, it stole USD 170 million from the budget. On March 19, Facebook page “შენ ხარ საქართველო” (You are Georgia) published the post with an identical text and photo.
The claim as if Lithuania rejected AstraZeneca vaccines and the rejected vaccines were then sent to Georgia is manipulative and false. Lithuania, as well as several European countries, temporarily suspended use of AstraZeneca vaccines; however, on March 18, some European countries, including Lithuania, restarted their roll-out of AstraZeneca vaccine after Europe’s medicines regulator concluded it was “safe and effective.”
Where did Georgia receive AstraZeneca vaccine from?
The first batch of AstraZeneca vaccines produced in South Korea arrived in Georgia from Amsterdam on March 13. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) supported Georgia in purchasing 43,200 doses of AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine. Georgian Health Minister Ekaterine Tikaradze said that UNICEF and the National Center for Disease Control of Georgia (NCDC) transferred money to COVAX Facility on March 1. As the largest vaccine buyer in the world, procuring more than 2 billion doses annually for routine immunization and outbreak response on behalf of nearly 100 countries, UNICEF is coordinating and supporting the procurement, international freight, and in-country distribution of COVID-19 vaccines for COVAX Facility.
About COVAX Facility
The overall aim of COVAX Facility is to accelerate the development and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines, and to guarantee fair and equitable access for every country in the world. COVAX is co-led by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and the World Health Organization (WHO). COVAX Facility aims at ensuring fair and equitable distribution of vaccine doses among 92 lower and middle income economies so that they manage to effectively counter the coronavirus pandemic.
When and why did European countries suspend use of AstraZeneca vaccines and when did the vaccination resume?
Germany, France, Italy, Denmark, Spain and other European countries suspended use of AstraZeneca vaccine until March 18. “Thrombotic events” in people who had received the vaccines were cited as the reason behind the suspension of vaccination. According to the statement released by AstraZeneca, there have been only 37 thrombotic events out of 17 million people vaccinated in the EU and UK with COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca. However, there is no evidence of an increased risk of thrombosis following vaccination. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) also investigated AstraZeneca vaccine safety and released its findings on March 18. According to the EMA findings, AstraZeneca vaccine does not increase the risk of thromboembolic events, it is safe and its benefits continue to outweigh its risks.
After the EMA released its findings, several European countries (Germany, Italy, France, Spain and others) resumed use of AstraZeneca vaccine. Vaccination also resumed in Cyprus, Latvia and Lithuania.
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