Egypt considers administering third vaccine dose

The Egyptian health ministry is considering administering a third dose of the Covid-19 vaccine to its citizens as mutations of the coronavirus continue to surface in other countries.

JOHANNESBURG, May 21 (ANA) – The Egyptian health ministry is considering administering a third dose of the Covid-19 vaccine to its citizens as mutations of the coronavirus continue to surface in other countries, according to Egypt Independent.

The publication reported on Thursday that Mohamed Awad Tag Eddin, the adviser for health affairs to the Egyptian president, was speaking during a telephone interview on television channel MBC Masr on Wednesday evening.

Tag Eddin noted that China has announced that those who received two doses of its Sinopharm vaccine must receive a third dose.

The United Arab Emirates, which was one of the first countries to use Sinopharm, announced earlier this week that it would be administering booster shots of the vaccine, Egypt Independent wrote.

Tag Eddin assured citizens that the government was handling the pandemic situation and vaccine campaign well.

“Before Eid, (Egypt) was going to enter a critical stage with regard to the coronavirus pandemic in Egypt,” he said, adding that the demand for hospitals and critical cases had increased alarmingly.

According to Ahram Online, Egypt’s cabinet has extended anti-coronavirus measures as the country grapples with a spike in daily Covid-19 cases.

The publication reported on Wednesday that the current measures put in place were set to expire on Saturday but will remain in place until May 21.

The measures which will be imposed stipulate that all shops, malls, coffee shops, restaurants and movie theatres must close at 9pm and all public activities nationwide have been banned until further notice.

Egypt’s health ministry has recorded 250,391 Covid-19 cases, with 184,373 recoveries and 14,559 deaths.

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