Egypt provides anti-coronavirus vaccines at 600 hospitals, 5K health units: Minister

 

CAIRO – 22 March 2021:  Anti-coronavirus vaccines will be available at more than 600 hospitals and 5,000 health units within the coming period nationwide, announced Egyptian Minister of Health Hala Zayed in a joint press conference with with Chinese ambassador to Egypt Liao Liqiang on Monday.

 

The press conference was held to announce the vaccines Egypt receives from China to treat Coronavirus patients. She praised President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s leadership, under which the Egyptian-Chinese relations were developed.

 

She continued that the Ministry targets to vaccinate approximately 250,000 citizens against coronavirus by the end of this week, adding that Egypt and China are negotiating to manufacture COVID-19 vaccines in Egypt. The Minister revealed that the state is in talks with the Chinese company to allow Egypt to conduct the third stage of clinical trials of coronavirus vaccine.

 

“Egypt is fully ready for facing the third wave of coronavirus,” she said, noting that all the sector health facilities have prepared for the third wave.

 

As for the vaccination for the Hajj season (Muslims’ Pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia), Zayed said that the anti-coronavirus vaccines will be provided to citizens who will perform the Hajj this season. She noted that the Hajj medical mission will be in coordination with the Ministry of Tourism, Interior and Social Solidarity.

 

"Employees and workers at tourism and aviation sectors and various medical staff will be vaccinated," she said, noting that the ministry will allow the issuance of vaccination certificates in both Arabic and English.

 

The Chinese ambassador affirmed that 17 Chinese vaccines have undergone clinical trials, adding that 60 countries are getting their coronavirus vaccines from China.

 

“China provides 69 developing nations with necessary vaccines as an assistance and provides 10 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to global vaccine sharing scheme COVAX which is backed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and GAVI vaccine alliance,” he was quoted as saying by Egypt’s state-owned news agency MENA.