The shipment was carried by an aircraft that belongs to the UAE flag carrier Etihad Airways, according to pictures published by the Egyptian health ministry.

In a statement, the health ministry said the shipment was delivered through COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX), an international initiative that seeks to ensure equitable distribution of coronavirus vaccine in cooperation with the Vaccine Alliance (GAVI).

The COVAX initiative seeks to provide low- and middle-income countries with their vaccine requirements.

The first Moderna shipment arrived in Cairo from Canada on 31 October, comprising 784,280 doses.

With the Moderna shipment, Egypt has secured all types of coronavirus vaccines available worldwide, Minister of Higher Education and Acting Health Minister Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar said on Sunday.

This second delivery raises the total number of doses received by Egypt to over 77 million, including the Sinopharm, Sinovac, AstraZeneca, Sputnik V, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, and Moderna vaccines.

Thus far, vaccination centres nationwide have administered around 38 million doses to 25 million citizens since the start of the vaccination campaign in January, according to health officials.

The government has set a goal of vaccinating 40 million citizens by the end of 2021. The country has thus far allocated 1,079 vaccination centres nationwide and is planning to establish more in the near future.

In October, Moderna said it would make up to 110 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine available to African countries, AP reported. This is in addition to a Moderna deal with COVAX to supply up to 500 million doses from late this year through 2022.

Africa, with about 1.3 billion people, remains the least-vaccinated region of the world against COVID-19, with just over 5% fully vaccinated.