Eurasianet

The government said the system was useless against the Omicron variant, but critics accused them of pandering to anti-vaxxer sentiment.

Tashkent’s vaccination campaign is getting a shot in the arm.

The country has belatedly introduced a COVID pass system to enter restaurants and bars as the vaccination rate remains at just 28 percent.

Tbilisi’s world-famous nightclubs were the country’s last businesses to reopen following the COVID lockdown. But it took a confrontation with the authorities to make it happen.

The government has ordered the fiscal inspection service to withdraw letters accusing businesses of evading taxes.

Similar systems have been used around the world to encourage vaccinations. But under Georgia’s, you may be better off not being vaccinated at all.

Employers are now effectively required to demand proof of vaccinations from their workers. But the country’s health care system is now being pushed to the limit.

The government hopes to boost vaccination rates, but a new anti-vaccine campaign is on the rise.

The new rules come as the country is trying to stave off a third wave of the virus and vaccination numbers remain in the low single digits.

While clumsy on COVID-19, Turkmenistan is being more sure-footed, or consistent at least, on the Afghanistan front. Plus, unsustainable agriculture. Our weekly briefing.

The government signals it is taking COVID a bit more seriously, without admitting the virus is running rampant. And Ashgabat gets down to business with the Taliban. This and more in our weekly briefing.

Poor and rural families are not equipped to handle online school. Now they fear another academic year is going to start with schools still closed.

With the Taliban at the border, the president heads in the other direction to oversee defense operations on the Caspian Sea. Our weekly Turkmenistan briefing.

Central Asia’s largest nations are using unique coronavirus vaccines that haven’t been carefully studied. Do they have a choice?

Vaccine uptake, the latest case surges, and related news from Central Asia and the South Caucasus.