Egypt inoculated 350,000 citizens that intend to travel abroad soon with various coronavirus vaccines over the past two weeks, Egypt’s Health Minister Hala Zayed said in a meeting with Kuwait’s Ambassador to Cairo Mohamed Saleh Al-Thuwaikh on Tuesday.
Egyptian travelers below 18 years of age have been also allowed to receive a vaccine for the purpose of studying or treatment abroad, the health ministry cited Zayed as saying in a statement.
Al-Thuwaikh affirmed Kuwait’s keenness to facilitate procedures for safe transportation between Egypt and Kuwait in a way that serves the interests of their citizens, according to the statement.
He said that the measures taken by the Egyptian health ministry in this regard are in line with Kuwait’s health regulations, noting that this contributes to increasing flights between both countries starting September.
Al-Thuwaikh hailed the Egyptian government’s measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus since the beginning of the crisis and praised Egypt’s support for many Arab, African, European, and Asian countries in the face of the pandemic.
During the meeting, Zayed and Al-Thuwaikh exchanged information regarding the coronavirus situation in both countries, the statement read.
Egypt started its vaccination campaign earlier this year and has allocated 657 vaccination centres nationwide, including 145 centres for those traveling abroad, according to data released by the ministry last week, with the numbers regularly increasing.
To date, Egypt’s vaccination campaign has included the use of the imported version of the Sinovac vaccine — with the locally produced version going into circulation last week — along with the Sputnik V, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, and Sinopharm vaccines.
Egypt is also expecting 5.2 million doses of both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines in September along with a second batch of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
This is in addition to the country’s ongoing efforts to produce millions of Sinovac and Sputnik shots annually to cover local and African needs.
Egypt received its first shipment of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, comprising 261,600 doses earlier this month.
Egypt announced earlier in August that the Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer vaccines will be dedicated for travelers.
In a press conference last week, Zayed said in case Egypt ran out of the Johnson & Johnson doses allocated for traveling purpose, it will use the British AstraZeneca vaccine instead.
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