Egypt to witness peak of 4th coronavirus wave next week: official

CAIRO – 9 October 2021: Egypt will witness the peak of the fourth wave of coronavirus next week, Hossam Hosny, the head of the scientific committee to combat the coronavirus at the Ministry of Health said on Saturday.

Hosny said in media remarks the coronavirus symptoms during the fourth wave include fever that lasts for over two days in addition to wet cough and constant headache.

The treatment protocol of coronavirus will be updated in the next period, Hosny said, expecting a rise in infections.

Hosny said those who have received a coronavirus dose a year ago or more will be administered a third shot, Hosny added.

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

Health Minister Hala 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.

In remarks last week, Zayed said the ministry has inoculated more than 13 million citizens with the first shot, while 7 million have received the two shots.

Egypt seeks to provide vaccine doses to 40 million citizens by the end of the year.