Egypt is set to receive Today the first shipment of the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Unified Procurement Authority (UPA), a week after the country embarked on a nationwide vaccination campaign, beginning with frontline health workers. The UPA did not provide details on the number of expected doses.
Last week, the UPA announced it had signed a deal with Russia's R-Pharma and India's Serum Institute to purchase 20 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, part of a total 100 million doses targeted by the Egyptian government.
The AstraZeneca vaccine requires two doses administered 21 days apart akin to other vaccines, but without the need for ultra-cold storage, a feature that makes it easier to roll out in hot countries and remote locations.
Egypt has not yet approved the emergency use of AstraZeneca vaccine. However, the approval seems to be on the horizon as Minister of Health Hala Zayed announced in mid-January that the Egyptian Drug Authority (EDA) has started studies on the British vaccine.
The EDA has already approved in early January the emergency use of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine, the only coronavirus vaccine Egypt has received thus far.
On Friday, officials said the country has passed the second wave of the virus.
Source: Al-Ahram Online
