Anti-COVID-19 vaccination kicks off for elderly people, those with chronic diseases

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Thu, 04 Mar 2021 - 12:54 GMT

BY

Thu, 04 Mar 2021 - 12:54 GMT

COVID-19 Vaccine - File

COVID-19 Vaccine - File

CAIRO – 4 March 2021: The national campaign to vaccinate elderly people and those with chronic diseases against Coronavirus pandemic kicked off Thursday.

Egyptian Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouli witnessed the process that took place at the medical center in Qattamiya, Giza, as he asserted “his keenness to witness the first day of the campaign.
 
Madbouli was accompanied by Health Minister Hala Zayed and Cairo Governor Khaled Abdel Aal in the presence of the representative of UNICEF in Egypt in addition to a number of Health Ministry's officials.

Meanwhile, Zayed said “Egypt is the first country to start the vaccination campaign in Africa as it is the first to get the vaccine in the continent.”

According to the recommendations of the World Health Organization, the vaccine is to be given first to vulnerable people, she said.

The vaccination of the medical teams started on January 24, she added.

A website was launched for the registration of citizens with chronic diseases, including patients of renal failure and tumors and those who underwent cardiac operations in addition to renal or liver transplant, she said.

She explained the steps necessary for those with chronic diseases to get the two doses of the vaccine, adding that the citizens who got the first dose of Sinopharm vaccine will get the second dose after three weeks.

The Ministry of Health put certain criteria during the registration process on the website, asking citizens to provide 3 medical reports to determine their health status, and then the website automatically determines priority regarding receiving the vaccine.

Then, a text message will be sent to citizens on when and where they could receive the vaccine. 

 

COVID-19 Vaccine

 

Pregnant women, children under the age of 16, people who suffer allergy, and Immunocompromised patients are excluded from receiving the vaccination.

 

Recently, Egypt has received a vaccine shipment – consisting of 300,000 doses - granted by China.  During a phone call between President Abdel Fatah El Sisi, President Xi Jinping affirmed China’s readiness to share its experience in facing the pandemic with Egypt and to supply the Egyptian state with its coronavirus vaccine needs.

 

Egypt already received 50,000 Sinopharm vaccine doses in December, the first vaccine batch to enter the country for the mass vaccination purpose. Also, it has reserved in principle 10 million doses of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19, shortly after the country has approved it, according to reports.

 

Health Minister Hala Zayed said Egypt managed to strike international deals to import 100 million vaccine doses against the novel coronavirus in 2021 thanks to its good relations with other countries.

 

It is noted that the vaccination of medical staff was finalized earlier last week by a rate of 50 percent. It has been reported that some of Egyptian medical staff refuse taking the Chinese vaccine as they doubt its effectiveness, although the ministry said earlier that the vaccine is safe and has been subjected to all required tests that proved its efficacy.

 

The ministry referred to a study that found that the Sinopharm vaccine has shown 86 percent efficacy against coronavirus, 99 percent efficacy in producing antibodies to the novel virus and 100 percent efficacy in preventing cases from showing moderate or severe symptoms.

 

The first Egyptian doctor who received the first shot of the vaccine told Youm7 newspaper on January 25, 2021 that his condition was good, saying that there is no need for worry about it.

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