Egypt to receive 2 million Sinovac doses from China within days, ministry spox tells ET

CAIRO – 7 October 2021: Egypt will receive two million Sinovac doses from China within days, Health Ministry Spokesman Khaled Megahed told Egypt Today.

Megahed said the vaccine doses are now available for all Egyptians, asserting that the Chinese vaccine is guaranteed to be effective.

He stressed the good relations linking Egypt with China.

Megahed said Egypt will soon manufacture the US coronavirus vaccine Moderna.

He told Egypt Today that the negotiations are underway with the parent company in this regard.

Megahed confirmed that Egypt’s locally-made Sinovac/VACSERA vaccine is safe and effective, affirming that there is no difference between the Egyptian and the Chinese versions of this vaccine.

Megahed said all vaccines’ effectiveness rates range from 86 to 92%, noting that the Egyptian vaccine is produced with the same foreign techniques and is well tested.

"There is a diversity in vaccines in Egypt,” Megahed said.

Minister of Health Hala Zayed said in remarks to media on Sunday that Egypt will start vaccinating high school (secondary school) students against coronavirus within a month.

Cabinet spokesman Nader Saad announced in August that vaccination will be mandatory for all employees in the education sector, including university students, as per presidential directives.

The country seeks to inoculate those categories at least with one shot before the beginning of the new academic year on 9 October.

According to Education Minister Tarek Shawki on Sunday, 8 million doses are needed to vaccinate the high school students.

During her remarks, Zayed said 1.6 million employees in the pre-university education sector have been vaccinated.

Zayed said Egypt vaccinated 3 million employees at the administrative sector of the state among a total of 3.4 million.

Egypt also fulfilled its commitment toward 22 African and Arab states to assist them in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, Zayed said.

Zayed affirmed that the country will be able to produce one million doses of the Sinovac coronavirus vaccine next month, saying 14 European countries have approved Sinovac.

Egypt’s vaccination campaign has started in January using various types of imported and locally-made vaccines and vaccinating millions of citizens.

Zayed said earlier that the country has received a total of 60 million doses of different vaccines, including AstraZeneca, Sinovac, Sinopharm, Sputnik V, Johnson & Johnson vaccines, and finally, Pfizer.

Egypt received 1.6 million Pfizer vaccine doses as a gift from the US late last month.