Egypt Strives to Vaccinate Half the Nation by the End of 2021
Egypt has been no exception in being hit hard by the pandemic. While people may practice being cautious as much as they can, it doesn’t mean anyone is truly protected from the virus. We hear about numerous deaths from COVID-19 daily and it terrifies us, driving us to sign up for the vaccine. Millions of people have signed up online for the vaccine, as both the Sinopharm and AstraZeneca are still in stock. This all comes as part of the government’s initiative in reaching the goal to vaccinate 50% of the population by the end of 2021.
The Egyptian government’s spokesman stated that they plan to vaccinate 500,000 citizens a day, in order to reach half the population by the end of this year. Vaccinating those who have registered as soon as possible continues to be a task requiring persistent efforts, and Egypt currently has 403 vaccination centers within the country. Cabinet spokesman Nader Saad, said that 2.1 million people have already taken their first shot of the vaccine, and 625,000 people have received their second shot, according to Arab News.
Vaccines
Multiple vaccines are being manufactured whilst others are supplied from abroad. However, Sinovac, the Chinese vaccine, will be manufactured locally this month, and will continue until the end of this year; creating around 40 million doses. Meanwhile, there is also a contract for 20 million doses for the Sputnik V vaccine that will be supplied from the United Arab Emirates. Additionally, 20 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be supplied by the African Export-Import Bank. Throughout June, two million Sinovac and Sinopharm doses will be sent to Egypt, and 1.9 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine will be supplied to Egypt as well.
In addition to help everyone get vaccinated, there have been several precautions set in place in order to preserve the safety and health of people during the pandemic. Some examples include facilities that violate summer hours will receive a fine and could be shut down for up to two weeks, and weddings may be held only in open spaces.
