Subject: Re: Study on public perceptions of COVID-19 vaccines
From: Shane Rosenthal <[email-masked]>
To: Tamar Gabunia <[email-masked]>
Cc: George Kiziria <[email-masked]>, Maia Nikoleishvili <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2021 13:37:32 +0000

Dear Tamar,

I wanted to share with you information about ADB’s APVAX facility to finance purchase of vaccines and strengthening of national vaccination systems.

There are two components, the Rapid Response Component (RRC) for vaccine procurement and the Project Investment Component (PIC) which covers systems for vaccination.

Depending on the complexity of a proposed project, our team can prepare and seek ADB Board approval in about 4 months. Retroactive financing is also possible for eligible goods. The criteria for accessing the APVAX facility are fairly straightforward;
please see the attached document on the facility as well as a summary presentation.

You’ll see the terms on slide 11 of the ppt. The financing ceiling for the RRC (vaccines) is $15 million. For PIC (vaccination process) it’s possible to use additional country allocation for Georgia so the financing can exceed that amount.

Of course, this would need to be discussed and agreed with the Ministry of Finance where our main counterpart is DM Gagua. He is aware of the APVAX facility.

Please let us know if you have questions. To start the process we would need a green light from MoF in the form of a simple letter with a request to use the APVAX facility. The preparation process has been streamlined to ensure a timely
response.

Regards,

Shane

From:
Shane Rosenthal

Date: Wednesday, March 24, 2021 at 12:00 AM

To: Tamar Gabunia

Cc: George Kiziria , Maia Nikoleishvili , Natalia Nikuradze

Subject: Re: Study on public perceptions of COVID-19 vaccines

Dear Tamar,

I’m really glad that we’ve been able to help. It’s also been a good opportunity for us to get to know you and your team, and learn about the broader challenges across the health sector.

I look forward to discussing and will ask Nata to set up a time that works for everyone. Let’s aim for Friday afternoon or early next week.

Regards,

Shane

From: Tamar Gabunia

Sent: Tuesday, March 23, 2021 9:49 AM

To: Shane Rosenthal

Cc: George Kiziria; Maia Nikoleishvili

Subject: RE: Study on public perceptions of COVID-19 vaccines

Dear Shane

Many thanks for your e-mail and provided reports. This is very helpful. Let me to take this opportunity to thank ABD colleagues for enormous support provided during the pandemic. We would be more than happy to
work with ABD experts on priority setting for further ADB engagement to support health sector reforms. Please kindly let me know what would be most convenient time for you this week or next week for the meeting.

პატივისცემით,

თამარ გაბუნია

მინისტრის პირველი მოადგილე

Sincerely,

Tamar Gabunia,
MD, MPH

First Deputy Minister

From: Shane Rosenthal [mailto:[email-masked]]

Sent: 23 March, 2021 00:35

To: Tamar Gabunia

Cc: George Kiziria

Subject: Study on public perceptions of COVID-19 vaccines

Dear Tamar,

The ADB-supported Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Program recently undertook a survey of households across 7 countries including Georgia. I am writing to share the results with you.

The focus is on household perceptions of the pandemic and vaccination. It includes interesting information on vaccine resistance. One clear takeaway is that people trust doctors and nurses for reliable information
about vaccines, something that is true across most countries. In Georgia the survey of 1000 households was done in partnership with
PMC Research (Giorgi Kishtovani is the Research Director). The attachments include two presentations with conclusions, and a Word document with a break down of the results. I hope these
are helpful.

Giorgi Kiziria is keeping me updated on progress of the ADB experts who have been supporting to MOH. This includes an assessment that George Gotsadze is undertaking of priorities in the health sector as a basis
for further ADB engagement that will get started this week. We would be interested in longer term engagement if it can be transformative. The timing of this work is good. In April we will be holding consultations on our “country programing”, an annual process
that leads to an indicative 3 year pipeline of ADB technical assistance and lending. As part of this we will request a meeting with you to discuss and learn more about your priorities and plans.

Regards,

Shane