On November 4, 2021, the President of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili said at a briefing that she considers the Georgian Orthodox Church to be one of the culprits in the low level of vaccination of the population against coronavirus. It is reported by “Interfax-Religion“.

The President believes that the reluctance of some citizens to be vaccinated against COVID-19 is due to the lack of a public blessing from the Patriarchate of Georgia.

“The Patriarchate also has a great responsibility, which refrains from blessing (vaccination), which leaves the opportunity for individual clergy to preach antivax propaganda, the responsibility also lies with some representatives of the medical field, whose views harm the common cause. And, finally, the responsibility lies with the citizens who, because of their personal fears and their health, put the country in front of a demographic catastrophe,” Salome Zurabishvili said.

She called on the Georgian government to take urgent and strict measures to fight to accelerate the rate of vaccination of the population, noting that government officials should do more to popularize coronavirus vaccinations.