EGYPT expects to start receiving COVID-19 vaccines through the Geneva-based GAVI vaccine alliance in the coming weeks, the health minister said yesterday.
“GAVI will provide us with 20% of our needs. It will give us the urgent needs during the first quarter,” Hala Zayed said in a televised briefing.
“Within two or three weeks maximum there will be the beginning of the influx of GAVI vaccines, which largely will be AstraZeneca (vaccines),” she added.
GAVI and the World Health Organisation have set up the COVAX initiative to secure fair vaccine access for lower and middle-income countries.
Zayed said Egypt also expected to sign a bilateral contract with AstraZeneca once a local drug regulator approves the company’s vaccines, and that approval was expected within a week.
Egypt has asked Pfizer to send data for its vaccine to the local regulator, Zayed said.
Egypt received its first shipment of vaccines developed by China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) in December, but further shipments have been delayed.
Zayed said more Sinopharm vaccines would arrive within days.
In total, Egypt’s government has confirmed 149,792 infections and 8,197 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
However, health officials say the real number is likely far higher because of the relatively low rate of coronavirus testing and the exclusion of private test results.
Zayed said Egypt had almost doubled its supplies of oxygen over the course of the pandemic and said no oxygen shortages had been recorded at hospitals over the past three days.
Some local media have linked the deaths of several patients in intensive care units to oxygen supply problems. Officials have denied the deaths were caused by oxygen shortages.
Zayed said winter fog had delayed delivery of oxygen to some hospitals.
