Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced, on Wednesday, that the country will start production of the first batch of Sinovac vaccines next week.
During the cabinet’s weekly meeting, Madbouly stressed that he is keen to follow up on a daily basis, with the concerned ministers, the situation regarding the availability of various medical supplies to confront the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
This includes monitoring the availability of oxygen, in addition to following up on the rates of Egyptians receiving the antiviral vaccine, and the new shipments.
During the meeting, Minister of Health and Population Hala Zayed presented the latest developments in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, and the position on providing vaccines against it.
Zayed discussed the epidemiological situation of virus’ spread at the local and global levels, and the decrease in weekly infection rates in Egypt.
She pointed also to a report issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) which indicated a decrease in the number of new cases of HIV infection for a period of six weeks, as well as a decrease in the five-week mortality rate worldwide.
The minister explained that the amount of “Sinopharm” vaccines available in Egypt is scheduled to reach one million doses by the middle of next week. She pointed out that the total amount of this vaccine has so far exceeded 2.5 million doses.
The total amount of AstraZeneca vaccines so far supplied exceeds 2.6 million doses, with the minister noting that work is underway to determine the quantities to be supplied during the coming period. This is in addition to the “Sinovac” vaccine, of which half a million doses are scheduled to arrive during the month of June.
During the presentation, Zayed touched on the situation regarding the steps for the local manufacture of vaccines against COVID-19, and the expansion in the number of centres providing vaccines to citizens nationwide.
These have been set up inside universities, schools, and areas where pensioners are located, as well as inside airports and ports. This is in addition to providing vaccines at home to those with reduced mobility, as well to industrial workers, tourism sector workers, and dialysis centres.
Moreover, Madbouly announced that President Adel Fattah Al-Sisi was granted the Leader Medal by the Arab Parliament, the highest honour presented by the organisation to kings and heads of state.
The Prime Minister said that Al-Sisi’s being granted the award reflects the significant position that the president enjoys in the region. It also highlights the extent of appreciation for the unprecedented development projects that are currently being implemented in Egypt.
Madbouly also discussed updates for the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) earlier this week, and praised the petrochemical complex project there.
The project has received investments amounting to $7.5bn and will provide 15,000 job opportunities.
He said that the project is the first of its kind to produce petrochemical products, and also allows the establishment of complementary industries on the level of the African continent and the Middle East.
