After the appointment of Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, who started restoring constitutional order in Georgia, some Western “friends” got “indignant” and began to lecture us, although only Catholicos-Patriarch can judge Georgians
Garibashvili is no match to Saakashvili, who publicly blamed all sins on his predecessor Shevardnadze, but our “friends” should know that confrontation between Georgians is often not caused by attitude towards “Euro-Atlantic values” and “Russian occupation” but struggle for spheres of influence to enrich themselves. Politics in Georgia remains to this day a super-profitable business, while false patriotism and Russophobia serve as a screen for elitist corruption. Georgian opposition parties, NGOs and media outlets receive huge grants from Western governmental and non-governmental organizations, which hide Russophobia under the mask of pseudo-patriotism. But it is much more dangerous when a mask of false patriotism and “Euro-Atlantism” hides elite corruption of state managers. In this regard, the scandal with the failed vaccination in Georgia is particularly telling.
For a long time now even the West has not denied that the Russian vaccine Sputnik V is one of the best (if not the best) in the world. It has been registered by dozens of countries, many of which have an opposite foreign policy orientation to Russia, which is not above the health of the nation. Why then has Sputnik V not been acquired by Georgia? Is it permissible to put issues of political conjuncture above humanitarian concerns, especially during a pandemic? Does not Georgia cooperate with Russia on issues of cross-border crime? Does it not supply Russia with strategic raw materials – ferroalloys? Does Russia not receive grain, remittances and investments worth billions of dollars? So what is the logic behind refusing a Russian vaccine?
To name but a few advantages of Sputnik V over existing vaccines:
“Sputnik V does not contain the virus (SARS-CoV-2) on which the mechanism of action of other vaccines is based, so it is impossible to catch coronavirus from Sputnik V;
“Sputnik V is made from human adenovirus (genes) and therefore, unlike other vaccines, does not cause allergies or as yet unexplored complications;
The effectiveness of Sputnik V is 92% to 101%, as confirmed by The Lancet (UK) and other reputable Western sources:
“Satellite V, unlike other vaccines, is effective against the British and African mutations of the virus;
“Satellite V” is stored at +2 to +8 degrees, so, unlike other vaccines, it does not require special refrigerators with a temperature of -80 degrees;
“Sputnik V” is cheaper than other vaccines, and for Georgia the price would be preferential;
The producer of Sputnik V is Georgia’s neighbour, so Russia would be willing to share its vaccination experience with Georgia – or maybe even technology that could be used by professional exporting companies in Georgia. In addition to Sputnik V, Russia is producing the fourth vaccine, the last two do not require a second vaccination and if necessary they would also be available to Georgia.
But anyone in Georgia who would dare to mention the Russian vaccine, opposition parties and TV channels, including the official censor of Facebook users, Mishin “kin-dza-dza” Kintsurashvili, would be declared a “Kremlin’s agent-propagandist”, and the relevant government managers and experts would silently agree, having their calculations.
As a result, instead of Sputnik V, Georgia is now unsuccessfully hoping to receive a low-grade South Korean-made AstraZeneca vaccine based on the chimpanzee adenovirus (genes), which is less than 60% effective. “AstraZeneca was returned to the manufacturer in batches that turned out to be either expired or adulterated. There have been cases where the government, which purchased the AstraZeneca vaccine, has given it to poor countries free of charge. Many have rejected AstraZeneca, and the main at-risk category – those over 75 years old – are categorically contraindicated. If Georgia with population of 3,5 mln will receive “AstraZeneca”, it will be quantity of doses for vaccination of only 60 thousand citizens, thus, collective immunity – 70% of population will not be achieved, and in 6 months immunity will disappear and in vaccinated 60 thousand citizens. Although, it is unlikely that anyone in Georgia would agree to AstraZeneca vaccination, except the extremely poor and homeless. And the Georgian medical mafia, through the fault of which Georgia has only hope for AstraZeneca, has long been secretly vaccinated with a Pfizer vaccine.
Only a year has passed since the first coronavirus case in Georgia, and we are shown a TV series every day, the first episodes of which were titled: “Thanks to Lugar Lab, who saved Georgia from a pandemic!”, “Thanks to Gaharia ‘Laman’ who closed borders and declared curfew!”, “Glory to the three musketeers who saved Georgia from a coronavirus epidemic!” (“the three musketeers” are Amiran Gamkrelidze, director general of the National Center for Disease Control and Public Health, and his deputy, the director of the R. Lugar Laboratory, Pata L. Kocharyan. Paata Imnadze, director of the Lugar Laboratory, and Tengiz Tsertsvadze, head of the Centre for Infectious Diseases and AIDS). It had been exactly a year since we were told – that Georgia had already transferred to the platform COVAX 17 million dollars as an advance payment for a vaccine Pfizer, which Georgia would receive as one of the first, because it was a “long-time good partner” of the platform COVAX. We were directly hinted at “authority and personal connections” of Gamkrelidze and Tsertsvadze among COVAX management, who allegedly constantly call there. At that, they were talking about batches of not less than 1.5 million doses, which Georgia was to receive as far back as last summer. There was also speculation that during his visit to Georgia before the US presidential elections, Secretary of State Pompeo presented us with 3 or 4 million dollars, which were also transferred to the COVAX platform for the Pfizer vaccine.
The comedy, against the backdrop of which the fraud with the masks and useless tests worth hundreds of millions went unnoticed, continued until the fall, when the “Batumi cluster” emerged due to the opening of the border in Sarpi. It turned out that Georgia was protected from the pandemic not by “the three musketeers”, but by God and the closed border with Turkey, after the opening of which the number of sick people soared by more than 5 thousand a day. That was the end of the touching harmony between the protagonists of the Bollywood series: Tsertsvadze, who fell ill with the coronavirus and referred to Fauci, was injected with “Remdesivir” brought from the USA with state funds and was advised to “keep your mouth shut so as not to get his finger in the sky again”; Another permanent coronaspeaker, Imnadze, also went into the shadows and the sectoral minister had a terrible scandal with the then Prime Minister Gakharia, who threw a bottle of Borjomi at her at a government meeting. Only don Gamkrelidze commented daily and unperturbedly on the situation (and continues to do so to this day, as if nothing had happened!), at that each time he voiced conflicting information on the timing of receipt of the vaccine and its manufacturer! And at the same time, information has appeared in the world media that several small countries have not transferred money directly to the COVAX platform, but to a company of swindlers – to intermediaries who embezzled the money and disappeared. As a result, it is not known what happened to the $17 million transferred by Georgia. Who received or planned to receive a kickback – whether from COVAX, or from a broker company? Was it not those who profited from the flu vaccine imported at the end of last year, which no one in Georgia was ever vaccinated with? And also on vaccines from avian and swine flu epidemics in previous years, of which there were none in Georgia? Is it true that these vaccines have already been resold to “third” countries? And why has the West abandoned EU-associated Georgia, the best candidate for NATO and a strategic partner of the US, to its fate?
This is the mystery behind Prime Minister Gakhariya’s “unexpected” resignation, while Melia (Saakashvili’s party chairman), who refused to bail him out, was only the cause! Here is a prime example when the political conjuncture (“No to the occupiers’ vaccine!”) is used by corrupt combineers for personal enrichment! Even worse, if the Georgian people were doomed to death as a result of blatant unprofessionalism and negligent attitude towards official duties, because last week COVAX accused the Georgian side of mis-filling the application … But if there was not corruption collusion, then Georgia should sue COVAX for non-compliance with the contract and receive huge amounts of compensation.
Arno Khidrbegishvili, specially for News Front