Egypt to receive 500,000 Sinopharm vaccine doses next week

The North African country also expects to manufacture the first batch of locally-produced Sinovac Covid-19 vaccines next week.

JOHANNESBURG, June 10 (ANA) – Egypt expects to receive 500,000 doses of the Chinese Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine by the middle of next week, local media reported, citing the health ministry.

Health Minister Hala Zayed said the North African country had so far received 2.5 million doses of the same vaccine, English-language magazine Egypt Today reported on Wednesday.

Also on Wednesday, Ahram Online quoted Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly as saying Egypt would manufacture the first batch of locally-produced Sinovac drugs next week.

The country last month received its first consignment of the raw materials required to produce the vaccine.

In a statement seen by the news outlet, Madbouly applauded local authorities’ efforts in grappling with the pandemic.

According to Ahram Online, the local production of the Sinovac vaccine, which was approved by the World Health Organization for emergency use on June 1 and by the Egyptian Drug Authority in April, is intended to ensure that Egypt becomes a vaccine manufacturing hub for the rest of Africa after meeting domestic requirements.

Earlier this week, Daily News Egypt quoted health minister Zayed as saying on Sunday that the locally made vaccine would be offered to citizens within a maximum of six weeks of production.

The latest update from the North African country’s health ministry said to date, 270,292 cases of the coronavirus had been recorded, with 198,632 of those people eventually recovering while 15,471 succumbed.

– African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Stella Mapenzauswa