Egypt has received 1.5 million doses of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine donated by the US government.
Acting Health Minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar said Egypt received 1,501,110 Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine doses gifted by the US and delivered through the COVAX initiative and in cooperation with the Vaccine Alliance (GAVI).
The new batch of vaccines comes as part of the state's plan on expanding the vaccination against the coronavirus.
Spokesman for the Health Ministry Hossam Abdel Ghaffar noted that the vaccine is approved for emergency use by the World Health Organization and is administered as two doses, 21 days apart.
The shipment will be tested at the authority’s labs before being distributed to vaccination centers across the country.
Egypt has already received vaccines produced by AstraZeneca, Sinopharm, Sputnik, Johnson & Johnson, as well as Sinovac, which it is also producing locally.
The Ministry stresses that the Egyptian state spares no effort in providing vaccines to citizens free of charge, which consolidates the government’s efforts to combat the pandemic.
Meanwhile, Egypt denied a decision to cancel the wearing of masks in public transportation sites and closed places, saying that those who fail to comply with the rules risk a fine.
The Ministry stressed it continues to abide by the decision of the Higher Committee for Novel Coronavirus Crisis Management, which imposes wearing face masks in all closed areas and in open areas which have not enough spaces for social distancing.
