Egypt past 3rd coronavirus wave peak: what is next?

CAIRO – 2 June 2021: For two consecutive days, Egypt has reported a number of new coronavirus cases that is below 1,000 for the first time since April 26.

An official at the scientific committee combating the pandemic said Egypt is now past the peak of the third wave, which has forced the country to close shops, cafes, restaurants and malls earlier for three weeks before it cancelled the decision this week.

The country also is working to vaccinate the largest possible number of citizens per day by allocating new centers for vaccination, encouraging citizens to register to receive the vaccine and reaching homebound citizens at home.

So far, the country has allocated 403 centers to serve as vaccination points, according to Health Minister Hala Zayed on Sunday.

She said the vaccine is provided to about 110,000 citizens per day. The Cabinet spokesman, Nader Saad, later on Sunday said 2.1 million citizens have been vaccinated since late January.

Zayed said the country opened a large vaccination center in Nasr City’s Fair Zone that can receive around 10,000 citizens per day. She added that the country is planning to open other large centers nationwide.

Egypt has received millions of coronavirus jabs from Sinopharm, AstraZeneca and Sinovac vaccines and is planning to import millions others during June.

According to Zayed, the country will receive 3.9 million doses of vaccines during June.

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli on Wednesday said the state aims to vaccinate 40 percent of citizens by the end of the year.

The country has allocated the website (https://egcovac.mohp.gov.eg/#/home) for people living in Egypt over 18 years old to register to receive the vaccine.

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Madbouli both received the vaccine this month. Zayed received the Sinopharm vaccine during clinical trials last year.

Producing the vaccine

Officially, Egypt will locally produce China’s Sinovac and Russian Sputnik V vaccines and is planning to secure millions of doses annually as part of the state’s industry localization plan.

Last month, Egypt has received its first batch of the raw materials required to produce the Sinovac vaccine.

Zayed in a press conference said the Egyptian Holding Company for Biological Products and Vaccines (VACSERA) will produce 40 million Sinovac doses in the first year.

Also, Egypt plans to become a hub for exportation of coronavirus vaccine doses to African nations.

VACSERA and Sinovac in April signed two agreements to manufacture the vaccine. VACSERA will manufacture the final product using the ready-made product provided by Sinovac.

The first agreement is related to the transfer of technology required to manufacture the vaccine doses, a Cabinet statement read. Under the agreement, Sinovac will grant VACSERA a limited license to use the manufacturing technology.

VACSERA will manufacture the vaccine inside the company’s production facilities.

The second agreement stipulates that Sinovac secures for Egypt all technical information related to the company’s vaccine and provides technical assistance.

Technical assistance will include examining VACSERA’s factories and testing the final product and means of manufacturing.

In February, Egypt became the third country to approve the emergency use of the Russian-made Sputnik V, after it also approved Sinopharm and AstraZeneca vaccines.

On April 19, Zayed met with Russian Ambassador to Cairo Georgy Borisenko, where they discussed Egypt’s possible production of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine.

Zayed highlighted to Borisenko the Egyptian keenness to produce the Sputnik V vaccine through national companies.

The minister said this keenness seeks to cover the Egyptian vaccination needs and enable the country to export doses of coronavirus vaccine to African, a statement by the Health Ministry said.

Homebound citizens

Zayed late in May said medical teams will make home visits to vaccinate homebound people against coronavirus nationwide.

The ministry said citizens suffering from illness that disables them from leaving their homes can submit a request to receive the vaccine at home through contacting the hotline no. 15335.

They will then receive an SMS informing them of the vaccination place.

The decision is applied on those who are unable to move due to suffering from paraplegia, quadriplegia, polio, Parkinson's, arthropathy, neurological diseases, pelvic fractures, lower extremities amputation, muscular dystrophy, spinal cord atrophy, multiple sclerosis (MS) and myasthenia.

Vaccination will be carried out in homes through teams that are well-trained and provided with the logistic support required.

Two ambulances will be equipped in each governorate to move the vaccination teams to these citizens’ homes.

The ministry said 27 of the available vaccination centers will be allocated to send medical teams to the homebound citizens.

Citizens who are unable to move due to the old age or suffering from chronic diseases can contact the Egyptian Ambulance Organization at no. 123 to request an ambulance.