https://arab.news/cynws
- Zayed said Egypt will receive a new shipment of the Sinopharm vaccine next week and another from Gavi in May
- “The multiplicity of vaccine sources for the Egyptian state was very important,” she said
CAIRO: Five million doses of the Chinese Sinovac coronavirus vaccine will be produced within two months at the factories of the Egyptian Holding Company for Biological Products and Vaccines (Vacsera), Hala Zayed, Egyptian minister of health and population, has announced.
This is part of an agreement that allows the production of a total of 40 to 60 million doses.
In televised statements, Zayed said that Egypt will receive a new shipment of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine next week and another from Gavi (the Vaccine Alliance) in early May.
“The issue of vaccinating people against the coronavirus is a major challenge, especially since the industrialized countries give priority to vaccinating their citizens ... and 50 percent of the vaccines that were produced went to only two countries,” she added.
“The multiplicity of vaccine sources for the Egyptian state was very important,” she said.
“We contracted for 100 million doses, including 40 million doses through the COVAX initiative for distributing the vaccine around the world,” said the minister.
“It was an important matter to work on manufacturing, and we did that with the Chinese company Sinovac. Two agreements were signed, the first for local manufacturing and the other for technology transfer.”
She indicated that Egypt is negotiating with the Russian ambassador in Cairo to produce 60 million doses of the Russian vaccine in the Vacsera factories in 6th of October City.
Egypt is a large country and has great capabilities, and therefore it should not wait in line to vaccinate its citizens, she said.
The minister said that the vaccination of workers in the tourism sector in Sharm El-Sheikh and South Sinai would be completed by Thursday.
Zayed said that the Ministry of Health plans to launch medical convoys and mobile cars in neighborhoods, malls and metro stations to vaccinate people after the vaccine becomes available in large quantities.
She said that the ministry has equipped enough clinics to vaccinate 15,000 individuals every day. The ministry is currently working to provide places for vaccination in the regions of North and South Upper Egypt and the Delta for workers in economic sectors and factories.