Medical staff, people with weak immunity advised to get flu vaccine: presidential advisor

CAIRO – 4 October 2020: People with a weak immune system or suffering chronic diseases as well as medical staff dealing with coronavirus patients should get vaccinated against Seasonal Influenza, Egypt’s presidential advisor for health affairs said.

In remarks to Al Hekaya program on MBC Masr, Awad Tag El Din said the Egyptian state has sought to bring large quantities of the Influenza vaccine, especially during the coronavirus outbreak.

The vaccine is extremely important to many people, especially those suffering from chronic diseases in the respiratory system or the heart or the kidneys, Tag El Din said.

He added that the state also seeks to provide all medical staff with the vaccine.

Egypt recorded 109 new coronavirus (COVID-19) cases on Saturday, upping the total number of infections to 103,575, according to the Ministry of Health's daily briefing early on Sunday.

A total of 14 patients died from the virus over the past 24 hours, raising the overall death toll to 5,970.

As many as 131 patients were discharged from isolation hospitals after receiving necessary medical care, bringing the total number of recoveries to 97,274 so far, the spokesman added.

Candidate vaccines

Russia's Sovereign Wealth Fund said on Wednesday that it had agreed to supply 25 million doses of its potential COVID-19 vaccine to Egypt through Pharco, considered as one of Egypt's leading pharmaceutical groups.

The Russian Direct Investment Fund has concluded several deals to supply the (Sputnik-V) vaccine abroad, including the supply of 100 million doses to India, where it is also expected to conduct clinical trials.

Also, Egypt has carried out the third phase of its first clinical trial of two Chinese coronavirus vaccines. The Ministry of Health announced “promising results” and that the vaccine is set to be available for the public after its effectiveness is fully confirmed.

Noha Assem, adviser to the Minister of Health for research affairs, said in TV statements that the ultimate goal behind the volunteer participation in these clinical trials is “science and humanity.”

She added that the study responds to a specific research question, in addition to measuring the degree of vaccine safety.

She further mentioned some conditions for volunteering to undergo the clinical trials, which include that citizens should be under the age of 18, and did not contract diseases that are difficult to cure.

The ministry is carrying out medical analysis to volunteers to make sure it is safe for them to be vaccinated.