Health export Akaki Zoidze, consultant of the working group set for COVID vaccine, declares that they do not have an acting plan at this stage. According to him, the vaccine must be selected and priorities should be determined. Zoidze noted that advantages will be given to the risk-groups, elderlies and healthcare staff. A large-scale information campaign must be also conducted and the country should be prepared in terms of logistics.
"There is still a lot of work to be done regarding vaccination, because there are a number of issues: logistical, financial ...
Initially, the vaccine should be selected. We can make focus on one vaccine or choose all three vaccines that are eligible today.
The second issue is to prioritize the groups. This is the most interesting issue because it has to be agreed not only by the specialists and the government, but also by the whole society.
According to NDI surveys, conducted in summer, 43% of inquired people said that would not get COVID vaccine. However, 7% said that they mostly would not do it. To conclude, half the population said they would not get the vaccine due to various reasons.
On the other hand, there are people who want to get the vaccine, who are not include in the priority group, but try to somehow gain access to the vaccine”, Zoidze notes.
According to the health expert, one of the most important in this process is the existence of a communication strategy, because a large part of the citizens is skeptical about the vaccination process, therefore, as Zoidze says, it is important to send clear messages to the citizens about the side effects related to vaccination.
"We know very well that vaccination will have side effects. This side effect will indicate that the vaccine is working. We might have a cold, joint pain, have symptoms, which often appear after the first vaccination. It is important not to obscure this, as it turns out the vaccine kills”, Akaki Zoidze declares.
As for the action plan of COVID vaccination, Zoidze says that the document will be ready by the end of the month, but it will need to be amended.
