Egypt is expected to receive a shipment of the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine within two to three weeks from the Global Vaccine Alliance and Immunizations (GAVI), the Egyptian Health Minister Hala Zayed said at a press conference in Cairo on Monday.
"GAVI will provide us with 20 percent of our needs. The urgent needs will be delivered during the first quarter [of the year] … the beginning of delivery will start within the last week of January or the first week of February, or within two or three weeks at most," the minister added.
"Most probably it will be the AstraZeneca vaccine," Zayed commented on the vaccine expected to be supplied by GAVI.
In November, the Egyptian government revealed an agreement with the vaccine alliance, GAVI, to provide Egypt with 20 million doses of any coronavirus vaccines that might get emergency approval from the World Health Organization (WHO).
GAVI, alongside other international organizations, aims to guarantee rapid and fair access to coronavirus vaccines worldwide, mainly for middle-income and least developed countries.
Minister Zayed said, during the briefing, a final contract is expected to be signed with GAVI concerning the vaccine today or tomorrow.
Another contract concerning the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine will be signed soon too, the minister said, but when the Egyptian Drug Authority (EDA) issues an emergency approval for the vaccine.
Source: Al-Ahram Online
