Egypt aiming to start manufacture of US COVID-19 vaccine soon: Prime minister

Egypt aiming to start manufacture of US COVID-19 vaccine soon: Prime minister
Laboratory workers supervise the production of vials of a coronavirus vaccine produced by Egyptian company Vacsera in Cairo. (File/AFP)
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Updated 07 October 2021
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Egypt aiming to start manufacture of US COVID-19 vaccine soon: Prime minister

Egypt aiming to start manufacture of US COVID-19 vaccine soon: Prime minister
  • Madbouly: Cooperation between the health ministry and Harvard University had been beneficial for Egypt
  • US ambassador to Cairo said joint medical initiatives taking place with Egypt were working well

CAIRO: Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly has revealed that his country is close to securing a deal to start manufacturing an American COVID-19 vaccine in its state-owned Vacsera factories.

The premier’s announcement came during a recent meeting with Ajay Singh, dean of graduate studies at Harvard Medical School, that was also attended by Hala Zayed, Egypt’s minister of health and population, and Jonathan Cohen, the US ambassador to Cairo.

Madbouly said that cooperation between the health ministry and Harvard University had been beneficial for Egypt and other countries in the region, as Egyptian doctors worked extensively in Arab and Middle Eastern states. And the PM thanked Cohen for Pfizer and Moderna vaccines gifted to Egypt by the US administration.

Harvard University, Singh said, was keen to continue with and develop training programs with Egypt to help the northeast African country become a center for advanced medical education.

Cohen said joint medical initiatives taking place with Egypt were working well and that the US considered its links with Cairo important to American relations in the Middle East.

Zayed reviewed existing cooperation programs with Harvard University, which began two years ago, involving the skills training of Egyptian doctors in the latest medical developments. She added that the US also cooperated in the approval of medical exams and certificates in Egypt.