More messages will be sent in the coming days to other people who received the primary shots at least 6 months ago, Abdel-Ghaffar said in televised statements on Tuesday. The country is currently prioritising the optional booster shots for an initial group totaling around 4.1 million.

The group comprises those whose health and work conditions put them at elevated risk of contracting the virus, including patients who suffer from immunodeficiency, patients undergoing immunosuppressive therapy, the elderly, and healthcare workers, the government announced in late November.

The Egyptian health ministry has appropriated the booster types, noting that the additional shot may be different from the two initial doses.

Egypt has administered more than 52 million COVID-19 vaccine doses since the launch of its mass vaccination campaign in January, according to the latest figures released by the ministry.

Egypt, which plans to vaccinate 40 percent of its 102-million population by the end of 2021, has currently 64.5 million vaccine doses available for use.

The country has so far detected 376,233 coronavirus infections, including three recently-detected Omicron variant cases, and 21,410 related deaths.

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