Covid-19 vaccination started in Georgia on March 15, and as a medical worker, my brother-in-law was vaccinated that very day. My in-laws also got vaccinated quickly and easily as they were in the high-priority age group. The vaccine roll-out here has had some highly publicized ups and downs. The news sites have covered them extensively, and EurasiaNet has a regional vaccine tracker for those interested in the more general view of vaccines in Georgia. I’ll focus on my own experience in this post.
Given high rates of vaccine hesitancy in Georgia that increased after a preventable tragedy, Georgia’s vaccine policy has been fairly open to any who want a vaccine. The most popular vaccine, Pfizer, has just become available to the general population as of today. Individuals can choose which vaccine they want when they are eligible, though there have been different eligibility criteria for each vaccine at different times. Being able to choose which vaccine we received was…strange. While I believe the best vaccine is the one in your arm, being able to choose also made me think maybe I should wait for a vaccine with higher efficacy or that is authorized in the US. G and I decided that we would take the first WHO (emergency)-approved vaccine we were able to. (We decided to wait for WHO approval because we do want to be considered vaccinated for future travel, though now it turns out not all countries are sticking to the WHO decision, but it’s a positive step, anyway). The SinoPharm vaccine was made available to G and I relatively early, but since it wasn’t yet WHO-approved when appointment sign-ups began, we waited to register. I thought given how much vaccine hesitancy there was and how few people chose that vaccine in the survey that we’d still be able to get appointments later on. That strategy didn’t pan out. SinoPharm received WHO approval just a few days later, but the only appointments still available were mid-week in Svaneti, which just wasn’t an option given our work schedules.
I wised up by the time SinoVac appointments were offered. It still wasn’t WHO approved at the time, but the approval was expected soon. It did take me a few hours to realize that I could sign up for an appointment in the future, and cancel it if it wasn’t approved by that time. In those few hours, though, most of the appointments in Tbilisi had been booked up, though there were plenty of appointments throughout the country. We wanted something further in the future to give the WHO time to make their decision, two appointments together so G could do the talking for me if necessary, and if we were leaving Tbilisi we needed a weekend appointment. That did limit the appointments available to us, but we found a perfect slot in Ozurgeti. It’s a relatively accessible town and we’d never been, so we decided to book and make a vaccination vacation of it. Since I had some time before my appointment, I did consult with my doctors about my vaccine options, and they were both enthusiastically in favor of getting SinoVac sooner rather than waiting for something else.
I wasn’t 100% sure if I would be able to get vaccinated at all, as evidence was mixed. Early on, the authorities were notably quiet on the official policy. The US Embassy claimed that vaccination was available only for permanent residents, not temporary, though I knew some temporary residents who had successfully gotten vaccinated. The media always used the word “citizens”, but not “Georgian citizens” (I have an official document that refers to me as “Citizen Em”, though I am not a Georgian citizen). Some friends with legal residence (I’m not sure if temporary or permanent) had trouble registering, though the exact reason wasn’t clear. Some of them may have been trying to register for vaccines their age wasn’t eligible for, and many people had trouble entering the correct Georgian version of their name. I was able to register via the online portal quite easily, so at least that hurdle was cleared. (tip for others registering: your name has to be in Georgian characters spelled exactly the same as on your ID, with middle name, etc. Either permanent or temporary residence seems to work.). A few days before our appointments, the head of the CDC mentioned vaccinating residents in a press conference, so that was positive news, though I still wasn’t positive I’d be able to get it until it was in my arm, as there was presumably some amount of discretion reserved to the doctors administering the vaccine.
Dose 1:
The day we were scheduled, we got calls from the clinic inviting us to come earlier if it was convenient for us. The clinic was very easy to find (on a hillside visible from the town center with a big sign), even though we weren’t too familiar with Ozurgeti. It wasn’t very busy, but we were far from the only ones there. We were, however, the youngest by a good few decades. We didn’t have to wait long, and the clinical registration process was fairly fast and simple, just making sure they had the correct personal information and that we were healthy enough to be vaccinated. The staff were all friendly and efficient. The registration was so easy and pleasant that having worried about being turned away seemed silly.
After filling out the form, they sent us to the doctor who took our blood pressure and gave us the vaccine. Again, she was friendly and efficient. They used such a tiny needle that if I hadn’t watched her prepare it (and G hadn’t taken a photo), I wouldn’t have been sure that she had even administered it.
We were then moved to another section of the room to wait to make sure we didn’t have any post-vaccine reactions. (They are being very cautious now). I have a habit of waving my arm around and exercising it after injections, as I’ve heard this can help keep your arm from being sore after. (I don’t know if this is just the placebo effect and I don’t know how sore my arm might have been otherwise, but I have a pretty good track record with this technique). When she saw me flailing my arm about, another of the doctors rushed over to make sure I was OK, so we were definitely being well monitored. Every so often, a staff member would call out checking to make sure everyone was still feeling OK. One benefit of choosing this clinic, which I’d had no idea of in advance, was that the view from the windows was really beautiful. It was certainly nice to be able to see the beautiful Gurian mountain scenery while waiting. We were given our paper certificates during this time, and after the monitoring time was done, we were released.
After a few hours, my arm did get slightly sore (less so than from my recent tetanus booster, but it lasted longer). I couldn’t fall asleep on that arm when I went to bed, but I woke up in the morning sleeping on that side without any issues. The next few days I felt a little sleepy during the day and slept like a log, but that could also have been from the travel, the fact that it was the first really hot days of the year, or because I was no longer worrying about being able to get vaccinated. I hadn’t slept so well for two nights in a row in a long time, so I’m quite pleased with this result.
Dose 2:
Our recommended date for the second dose was the beginning of July, though we’re allowed to take it in a 2-week window from 2-4 weeks after the first dose. After our first dose, the month of July wasn’t on the booking system at all, so we had to keep checking until July appointments appeared. At one point I got a little nervous and messaged the vaccine-coordinating body on Facebook, and they replied quickly, helpfully and in English letting me know that July appointments indeed hadn’t been released yet, and that I didn’t need to worry.
On June 28, there were rumors that the vaccine was available to everyone regardless of immigration status that day (they were false, but spurred by the fact that the English version of the booking site had been released a few days before). There were also news stories that the new, large shipments of SinoVac and SinoPharm were set to arrive at the end of the week. I was (unsuccessfully) helping some friends register, so I was actively checking the site regularly that day, which did happen to be when July appointments started popping up. Since we saw them immediately, we were able to book our appointments together on our preferred day (as long an interval between doses as allowed, as that seems to increase efficacy) at the clinic around the corner from our house. A few days later they re-opened booking for first doses of SinoPharm, and the booking site was the victim of a cyberattack. Fortunately it didn’t affect previous bookings, so we didn’t personally experience any issues with it. Partially in response to that event, it is now also possible to register with (some) clinics directly for vaccine appointments by phone. For those trying to register now, if you have a flexible schedule I recommend missing out on the first-day booking rush and periodically scouting for cancelled appointments. While looking for appointments for others and waiting for July to be added, I noticed that I could have gotten a much more convenient appointment that way.
When we arrived for our second dose, the clinic was quite busy but the vaccine administration was quite well-organized. This clinic was much slicker than the one we went to in Ozurgeti–everything was bright and shiny, and they had branded banners to get their logo into vaccine photos. Again, the staff were all friendly and professional. The doctor doing the intake survey asked if I’d prefer to speak English, and his English was excellent–a nice bonus. I think they used a bigger needle this time, because I definitely felt the injection this time. After our jabs, we were brought into a nice, modern auditorium to be monitored for side effects while they processed our paperwork. One thing that this clinic did that I thought was smart was in addition to the doctor doing the monitoring and the people handling the paperwork, they had an administrator (who I believe was also an MD, though I’m not sure) in the room to answer patients’ questions. She congratulated everyone for being vaccinated, and emphasized that people with just one dose of vaccine needed to be even more careful now than they had been before. She said that while there wasn’t an official policy on boosters for SinoVac and SinoPharm yet, it looked likely that a booster with Pfizer (or another Western vaccine) would be recommended in the future and would be made available to everyone who had received those vaccines. There were some heated discussions about the lack of European recognition of the Chinese-made vaccines, but she handled the situation well, even though it was obviously beyond her control.
In terms of side effects, my arm was slightly sore. Interestingly, it continued the trend of my recent vaccines and was less sore than from the previous, but the soreness lingered for even longer. Unfortunately, I didn’t sleep as perfectly as I did after the first dose. G did feel quite tired on the first day, but his arm wasn’t even sore.
The best vaccine is the one in your arm. Yes, it may be less effective, but something with lower side effects isn’t a bad consolation prize. Since registration for Pfizer has now been announced for all ages, just a few days after I got my second dose, I do feel a little like I’ve missed out. However, I will be fully vaccinated in time for some date-specific family gatherings, which wouldn’t have happened even if I managed to get a Pfizer appointment on the first day. Even after my vaccine is fully-developed, I’ll still be cautious (turns out, I strongly prefer eating outside) and wear my mask (allergies are much improved by wearing one) and get boosters as necessary, especially since the Delta variant is spreading and case numbers are increasing. I’d rather have some protection than none at all! I’m (unbelievably) looking forward to going to the dentist and getting my teeth cleaned!
Cookies and The Caucasus 