Egypt to receive 50K doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine on Sunday

CAIRO – 30 January 2021: Egypt would receive the first batch of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine (50,000 doses) on Sunday, announced the Egyptian Authority for Unified Procurement, Medical Supply and Technology Management (AUPP) in a statement on Saturday.

 

The AUPP had contracted with the British-Swedish pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical company to get 20 million doses of the Coronavirus vaccine.

 

Major General Doctor Bahaa El-Din Zidan, Chairman of the AUPP Board of Directors said that vaccines are safe and effective, saying “we support all the state's efforts to confront the Coronavirus, especially in providing vaccines and drugs.”

 

Spokesperson of the Health Ministry Khaled Megahed said on Wednesday evening in media remarks to the “DMC Evening” talk show, that the Egyptian Drug Authority is taking the necessary measures for authorizing the Russian Coronavirus vaccine.

 

He continued that the distribution of the coronavirus vaccine is optional, adding that those who want to receive the vaccine should register through an online website.

 

Egypt has recently started vaccinating the medical teams in isolation hospitals, then the senior citizens and people with chronic disease would receive their shots later, he said.

 

A total of 1,315 medical personnel in isolation hospitals have been vaccinated against the virus for far, while more than 3,000 people registered online to receive the vaccine.

 

Egypt reported 1,418 new coronavirus cases on December 31, the highest daily count since July 3. Cases then started to decrease until reaching 512 cases on Thursday. One day later, it recorded 589 new cases and 48 deaths.