Mohamed Awad Tag El-Din, Adviser to the President for Health and Prevention Affairs, said that the official numbers announced for confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) are being monitored by health institutions.
Tag El-Din also said that there are other potential and confirmed cases that are receiving treatment at home. At the same time, he noted that it is in no one’s interests to announce unconfirmed figures or details related to the number of infections.
However, Egypt is currently in a safe situation regarding coronavirus infections, with the authorities calling on citizens to exercise caution and adhere to precautionary measures to avoid infection, he said.
Regarding vaccines, Tag El-Din said that Egypt is in contact with international companies regarding the arrival in Egypt of vaccines against the coronavirus. Scientific committees are also continuing meetings to study all available vaccines and how to ensure they reach Egypt, but no specific date has been decided so far.
He noted that Egypt is looking to sign a contract with international organisations, under whose umbrella the vaccines are provided, to ensure that the country receives the vaccines as part of a fair distribution.
The government is also currently determining the most effective and safest vaccines to provide them to the Egyptian citizen.
Tag El-Din said vaccinations are an effective form of countering and saving humanity from the spread of diseases. The distribution of vaccines against the current global health crisis is urgently being carried out before the completion of full studies on them. With this in mind, only time will tell us of their positive effects against the coronavirus.
He added that Pfizer has used a new method regarding its own coronavirus vaccine, based on strengthening antibodies in the human body.
All vaccines are produced according to capacity and come out in successive quantities, Tag El-Din said, adding that every country takes a share of vaccines. This nominally benefits developing and poor countries, as a schedule is made and scientifically studied according to the available doses.
Tag El-Din added that worldwide distribution will take place within a few months, with Egypt to gradually receive its share of the coronavirus vaccine.
He also pointed out that there is an insufficient amount of production capacity worldwide, to ensure that the whole world receives the vaccine against the virus at the same time.
He explained that it is usual for the results of the vaccines to begin appearing after a period of 15 days to three weeks. He added that antibodies begin to form after the second dose which is administered at least 15 days after the first.
He pointed out that there are three possibilities for the effect of the immune bodies, which are: “complete immunity against infection, weak infection, no complications.”
Meanwhile, Minister of Health and Population Hala Zayed said at a cabinet meeting, on Tuesday, that Egypt has submitted an application form to obtain COVID-19 vaccines from COVAX. The scheme is led by the GAVI alliance, and has been set up to ensure rapid and fair global access to COVID-19 vaccines.
Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly has delegated Zayed and Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait to take the necessary measures to contract with GAVI to ensure that Egypt’s 20 million-dose batch of the vaccine is procured.
