Egypt's PM receives anti-COVID-19 vaccine

CAIRO – 26 April 2021: Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli received Monday the anti-COVID-19 vaccine one day after the president did within the national campaign targeting the vaccination of citizens.

The prime minister urged citizens to register for vaccination as soon as possible in order to preserve their health and the society's safety in light of the new waves of the pandemic. He affirmed that the president had instructed securing sufficient quantities of the vaccine.

Madbouli also commended the vital role played by the medical staff at this stage whereas they are required to provide care for COVID-19 patients and carry out the vaccination process.

Egypt’s Holding Company for Biological Products and Vaccines (VACSERA) and Chinese biopharmaceutical company Sinovac signed two agreements on Wednesday to manufacture the Sinovav vaccine.

VACSERA will manufacture the final product using the ready-made product provided by Sinovac.

Similarly, Egypt’s leading pharmaceutical company Minapharm said it would produce over 40 million doses of the Russian-made Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine per year, as per an agreement with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF).

The agreement to produce the world’s first registered vaccine against the novel virus also includes Minapharm’s Berlin-based subsidiary ProBioGen AG.

Minapharm in a press release said the parties to the agreement plan to immediately start transferring technology required, expecting the rollout of the vaccine in the third quarter of 2021.

Minapharm says production of the 40 million annual doses will take place in its Cairo biotech facility for global distribution.

In a similar context, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Health and Population Khaled Megahed stated Tuesday that 500,000 Sinopharm anti-COVID-19 vaccine doses will be delivered to Egypt later in April.

That is within a deal with China to supply 20 million doses of that vaccine.

Egypt’s Health Minister Hala Zayed had said earlier that the country will receive until the end of May 4.5 million coronavirus vaccine doses through the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX).