Egypt on the short list of partner countries for US Vaccines: US embassy in Cairo

Ahram Online , Monday 7 Jun 2021

Egypt
A man receives a dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Cairo, Egypt March 4, 2021. REUTERS

The US embassy in Cairo announced via social media on Sunday that Egypt was on the short list of partner countries to receive US vaccines against the coronavirus.

“Of the first 25 million, 19 million will go to COVAX and 6 million will be targeted to a short list of regional priorities and partner recipients - including Egypt.” Said the embassy in a short statement.

According to the White House, the first batch of 25 million doses will come from the US stockpile of Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.

Initial reports stated that the White House initially planned to start its donation effort with 60 million doses of stockpiled AstraZeneca vaccine, which is approved in many other countries but not the US.

In May, Minister of Health Hala Zayed announced that Egypt’s supply of the Sinopharm vaccine is expected to exceed 2.5 million doses in June, while AstraZeneca doses will reach over 5.2 million.

Zayed announced on Sunday that Egypt’s state-owned VACSERA will start producing China’s Sinovac vaccine locally on 15 June.

VACSERA plans to produce more than 5 million doses of Sinovac in the first two months of its production and 40 million doses within a year.

Sinovac will be registered in Egypt under the name Sinovac Vacsera and will be exported to African countries.

Russia and Egypt’s privately owned Minapharm also reached a deal to produce the Sputnik V vaccine. It is expected that Minapharm will produce 40 million doses annually under the deal to cover the country’s vaccination needs and to export doses to Africa.

Last week PM Mostafa Madbouly stated Egypt was planning to vaccinate 40% of its eligible population by the end of 2022.

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