El-Sisi assigns national Tahya Misr fund to help provide coronavirus vaccines to priority groups

CAIRO – 2 January 2020: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has assigned the donation-based national fund “Tahya Misr” to help secure coronavirus vaccine doses to priority groups, including medical teams.

Priority groups also include critical cases, people suffering from chronic diseases and older people, Presidential spokesman Bassam Radi said.

Sisi’s remarks came as he met with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Health Minister Hala Zayed, Finance Minister Mohamed Maeet and Mohamed Awad Tag El-Din, the president’s advisor for health affairs.

Sisi urged officials to look for the best offers of the most effective vaccines developed by the international companies.

He called for obtaining vaccine doses in the largest possible quantity and in the fastest time.

Sisi ordered establishing centers in all governorates nationwide to provide the vaccine doses and receive citizens willing to get vaccinated.

The meeting has reviewed the state’s efforts in containing the implications of the pandemic and vaccine updates.

The president urged maintaining the balanced path the state has taken in facing the first wave of the virus in 2020 to implement during the second ongoing wave.

He also ordered intensifying awareness programs to avoid coronavirus infection bases on previous experience.

Egypt in December received its first batch of doses of a vaccine developed by Sinopharm, containing 50,000 doses. The batch arrived at the Cairo International Airport, coming from the UAE.

Health Minister Zayed said Egypt will receive the vaccine batches in succession and will provide the doses for citizens free of charge, based on the directives of the president.

Sinopharm’s vaccine, according to UAE and Egypt, has an 86 percent efficacy against coronavirus. It has been involved in clinical trials in Egypt over the past few months. Zayed was one of the volunteers.

Zayed said the Chinese vaccine has secured an emergency approval of the World Health Organization, adding that Egypt has signed a deal with the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization to secure the provision of further vaccine doses.

The priority in distributing the vaccine will be given to the medical staff in isolation hospitals, as well as chest and fevers hospitals, she said.

Also, cancer or kidney failure patients, older people and persons suffering from chronic diseases will be prioritized.

The vaccine is injected in the upper arm. It consists of two shots, 21 days apart.

The Chinese vaccine has shown 99 percent efficacy in producing antibodies to the novel virus and 100 percent efficacy in preventing cases from showing moderate or severe symptoms, Health Ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed said.