Egypt boasts second highest vaccination rate in Africa – health minister

Egypt’s Health Minister Hala Zayed says the country has the second highest vaccination rate against the coronavirus after Morocco.

JOHANNESBURG, June 30 (ANA) – Egypt’s Health Minister Hala Zayed has revealed that the North African country has the second highest vaccination rate against the coronavirus in Africa after Morocco.

Zayed announced the figures at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Ahram Online reported.

According to the newspaper, the country has more than 400 vaccination centres nationwide.

Egypt has been using the Sinopharm and AstraZeneca vaccines over the past six months.

Meanwhile, the cabinet has approved a reduction in fees for issuing vaccine certificates for travellers to 100 Egyptian pounds (about US$6.3) for Egyptians and US$10 for foreigners.

Egypt Independent reported on Tuesday that Zayed announced earlier in June that factories at the Holding Company for Biological Products and Vaccines (VACSERA) have started manufacturing coronavirus vaccines in co-operation with China’s Sinovac.

Zayed said Egypt is busy producing the first two million doses within the agreement and is scheduled to produce 40 million doses of the vaccine by the end of 2021.

This marks the first time that China has co-operated with an African country in vaccine production, Global Times reported on Saturday.

According to Global Times, the first batch of raw materials used for the vaccines was delivered to Egypt in May.

Egypt’s health ministry, meanwhile, has recorded 281,031 Covid-19 cases, including 210,805 recoveries and 16,148 deaths since the outbreak of the pandemic.

According to the World Health Organization, as of June 22, more than four million vaccine doses have been administered in Egypt.

– African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Yaron Blecher