Egypt to get 500,000 new doses of Chinese COVID-19 vaccine before end of December

Egypt will receive 500,000 new doses of the Chinese coronavirus vaccine before the end of December, according to a government spokesman. (AFP/File Photo)
Egypt will receive 500,000 new doses of the Chinese coronavirus vaccine before the end of December, according to a government spokesman. (AFP/File Photo)
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Updated 18 December 2020
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Egypt to get 500,000 new doses of Chinese COVID-19 vaccine before end of December

Egypt will receive 500,000 new doses of the Chinese coronavirus vaccine before the end of December, according to a government spokesman. (AFP/File Photo)

CAIRO: Egypt will receive 500,000 new doses of the Chinese coronavirus vaccine before the end of December, according to a government spokesman. 

Nader Saad said that a transparent mechanism for vaccination operations would be put in place so that chronic disease sufferers and medical staff could begin the vaccination process during the first or second week of January.

Saad, who was on a MBC Masr talk show on Wednesday, said that data from the One Hundred Million Health Initiative launched by the president would be used to identify people with chronic diseases and critical cases to start communication with them and guide them to the vaccination process.

He said that negotiations were currently underway to secure 10 million new doses of the coronavirus vaccine through multiple companies, in addition to 20 million doses from the Jaffe Alliance.

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly tasked the government with developing a plan that includes mechanisms for providing and distributing the vaccine, as well as announcing it.

Madbouly said there was a need to maintain precautionary and preventive measures, imposing fines on violators and intensifying campaigns by authorities.

He directed strict penalties for those violating the precautionary measures, and to study ways to immediately collect fines from violators.

The prime minister stressed the prohibition of funeral pavilions, as well as weddings in closed halls, with an emphasis on closing private lesson centers and event centers.