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HEALTH-VIRUS-EGYPT-VACCINE
Egypt begins coronavirus immunisation campaign
ISMAILIA, Egypt, Jan 24, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – Egypt began its Covid-19
immunisation program Sunday, becoming one of the first countries in Africa to
vaccinate its citizens, with a doctor and a nurse receiving the Chinese-made
Sinopharm jab.
Egypt, the Arab world’s most populous country with over 100 million
people, received its first batch of the vaccine in December.
The inoculation will be available to all health workers for free, Health
Minister Hala Zayed said Sunday.
“All healthcare workers will receive it for free, it’s their right,” Zayed
told a press conference at Abu Khalifa Hospital in the northeastern city of
Ismailia.
She also paid tribute to over 330 doctors in Egypt who have died from the
virus.
People with chronic diseases and the elderly will be next in line for the
jab, but the minister said citizens “who have the means should pay for the
vaccine” in the coming months.
Egypt has registered over 160,000 novel coronavirus infections, including
nearly 9,000 deaths.
Health officials have warned that low testing rates mean the real number
could be at least 10 times higher.
Zayed said Cairo had inked deals to receive vaccine shipments from
British, Chinese and Russian firms, for a total of around 100 million doses.
Earlier this month, the minister said Egypt would receive 40 million
doses, mostly of the AstraZeneca/Oxford jab, via the Gavi vaccine alliance,
with the aim of inoculating 20 percent of its population.
Zayed said Sunday that the North African country was also working on
producing a vaccine locally, with a view to distributing it to the rest of
the continent, without providing details on which vaccine.
Earlier this week, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that Africa
was “in danger of being left behind as countries in other regions strike
bilateral deals, driving up prices”.
“I am reassuring the Egyptian people they will receive the vaccine, but I
reiterate the vaccine is not a substitute for staying vigilant in terms of
health precautions, including wearing masks,” the minister said.
Sinopharm says its vaccine is 79 percent effective against the novel
coronavirus.
The Indian Ocean archipelago of the Seychelles began vaccinating its
population against the coronavirus earlier this month, the first African
nation to do so.
BSS/AFP/ARS/2020 hrs