Egypt strikes deals to get 100 million coronavirus vaccine doses in 2021: minister

CAIRO – 4 February 2021: Health Minister Hala Zayed said Egypt managed to strike international deals to import 100 million vaccine doses against the novel coronavirus in 2021 thanks to its good relations with other countries.

This comes as Egypt has started its vaccination campaign in January, starting with the medical teams at quarantine hospitals, for being on top of priority groups in terms of vaccination.

Late in January, Egypt received 50,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, the second batch to be delivered to the country after the China’s Sinopharm batch in December.

Speaking before the House of Representatives on Thursday, Zayed said that Egypt received today the third batch of the Chinese vaccine.

Concerning the World Handball Championship Egypt hosted in January, Zayed affirmed that no coronavirus cases were detected among delegations of all countries that participated in the championship.

Zayed said, as she went on to mention the ministry’s accomplishments over the past two years, that Egypt managed to end urgent surgeries waiting lists at a cost of LE 5.5 billion.

As many as 470,000 surgeries were performed, including heart surgeries to end the waiting lists, Zayed noted.

So far, Egypt has reported 167,525 coronavirus cases and 9,460 deaths due to the pandemic, as the country managed to pass the second coronavirus wave.

Zayed said in statements to MBC channel Sunday, that the Ministry will start vaccinating the elderly along with people with chronic diseases against COVID, in mid-February.