
Egyptian citizen filling the application with a medical worker to receive Covid-19 vaccine in one of the Subways stations in Cairo, Egypt on 28 November, 2021. Photo courtesy of Egyptian Health ministry Facebook page.
Children will receive the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine only, Abdel-Ghaffar said in media remarks, noting that they can only receive the doses after the approval of their guardians.
Vaccination will be optional for this age group, Abdel-Ghaffar affirmed.
No Omicron cases detected
Separately, the ministry said on Thursday that no cases of the new coronavirus variant Omicron have been detected in Egypt so far.
Canada and Kazakhstan, however, announced suspending flights to Egypt in late November over fears regarding the new variant.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Canadian government said that the decision to expand its entry prohibition list is “based on data from ongoing surveillance efforts and the latest public health advice.”
The Kazakh government cited a reported Omicron case in Belgium of a passenger who arrived from Egypt, according to Reuters.
However, Abdinasir Abubakar, manager of the Infectious Hazard Preparedness unit for the World Health Organisation's Eastern Mediterranean Region, told the National that there is no evidence so far that the reported Omicron case in Belgium was infected while in Egypt.
Late in November, Egypt raised the quarantine preparedness level at all land, air, and sea ports over fears about Omicron, which reportedly first emerged in southern Africa.
Egypt’s health ministry said scientific committees, experts, and researchers at the ministry and Egyptian research centres are studying all the preliminary data related to this new variant.
The Egyptian government also decided to suspend flights with South Africa starting Saturday until further notice.
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