DISINFO: Vaccines in Georgia are made by Lugar lab, it is more advisable to use Russian-made vaccines
SUMMARY
Both European- and US-manufactured vaccines available in Georgia are unreliable. There is no way to verify that they are really manufactured in Europe or in the United States, and not at the Lugar lab. As for the United States, even if the vaccine manufacturer is verified to be based there, the quality of vaccination controls varies between different US states. Therefore, if one has to get vaccinated, it is better to choose a Russian-manufactured vaccine over a US-manufactured one or the one created at the Lugar lab.
RESPONSE
Unfounded claims on vaccines, available in Georgia. Both Lugar lab-related and vaccination-related disinformation are recurring pro-Russian narratives. Mythdetector.ge published an infographic on recurring smear campaigns against the Lugar lab in March 2017 and researched conspiracy theories about vaccines in the Georgian media in May 2018. The Georgian National Centre for Disease Control and Public Health, which operates the Lugar Centre, denied that the centre was involved in manufacturing any pharmaceutical or para-pharmaceutical products, including vaccines. The NCDC confirmed that the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) combined vaccine supplies in the Georgian healthcare network were manufactured in Belgium and the United States, while the H1N1 swine flu vaccine was made in France. They are exactly the same vaccines as used in their countries of manufacture and are generally authorised for use anywhere because these vaccines are prequalified by the WHO and are also authorised by the European Medicine Agency. The vaccines available in Georgia are also authorised and available in Russia, as listed on the web site of the Russian Register of Pharmaceutical Agents (see links to Russian registration certificates for Priorix, M-M-R II, and Vaxigrip). Click here for background about the disinformation campaigns around vaccines.