Egypt wants to expand Covid-19 vaccine rollout amid third wave
So far only 148,987 citizens including medical staff, healthcare workers and vulnerable groups have been vaccinated against Covid-19.
JOHANNESBURG, April 7 (ANA) – Egypt’s government wants to fast track coronavirus vaccinations after it received more than 854,000 doses of the AstraZeneca drug last week, Asharq Al-Awsat reported.
Citing Health Minister Hala Zayed, the publication said so far only 148,987 citizens including medical staff, healthcare workers and vulnerable groups had been vaccinated against Covid-19.
Health ministry spokesman Khalid Mujahid said Zayed had ordered the doubling of medical teams at vaccination centres nationwide as well as an increase in working hours. Mujahid however stressed that the number of citizens visiting each centre should not exceed 100 per day.
Workers in the tourism sector will be soon vaccinated especially in coastal regions as the summer season approaches.
The Egypt Independent on Tuesday reported that presidential adviser for health affairs Mohamed Awad Tageldin had warned the country was experiencing a surge in new infections as it grappled with a third wave of Covid-19.
Egypt received 854,400 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine on Wednesday as part of the global COVAX agreement established by the GAVI vaccine alliance and the World Health Organization to ensure the equitable distribution of vaccines, according to media reports.
The shipment is part of 40 million doses that Egypt is set to receive through GAVI in 2021.
The North African country received its first 50,000 dose shipment of AstraZeneca earlier this year and 680,000 doses of China’s Sinopharm vaccine. It will soon acquire 900,000 more doses of Sinopharm.
According to Asharq Al-Awsat, Mujahid said authorities were aiming to increase the number of vaccination centres to 200, with 40 in the capital Cairo alone.
The latest update from the health ministry shows Egypt has to date recorded about 250,000 coronavirus cases, out of which there have been 156,000 recoveries and 12,163 deaths.
– African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Stella Mapenzauswa