Egyptian Health Minister Hala Zayed has stated that Egypt will soon inaugurate its second production line for manufacturing China’s Sinovac COVID-19 vaccines in five weeks.
The production is under an agreement signed between the Chinese biopharmaceutical company Sinovac and Egypt’s state-owned vaccine maker VACSERA in the Agouza district of Giza province is responsible for its production.
During a joint press conference with German Ambassador to Cairo Frank Hartmann, Zayed said “We have already received raw materials for manufacturing 15 million doses and we’re currently receiving those for another 15 million doses”
On July 18, visiting Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry attended a ceremony marking the joint production of 1 million doses of Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine in Egypt, which is the first country in Africa to cooperate with China in the COVID-19 vaccine production.
On August 30, Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly inspected the VACSERA factory complex to check on the preparations for the commencement of vaccine production in the coming period.
He was accompanied by Minister of Health and Population Hala Zayed, Giza Governor Ahmed Rashid, and a number of leaders and officials of the Ministry of Health and the VACSERA factory complex.
Asked about the vision of the VACSERA factory complex in the 6th of October City, Zayed said that it aims to produce various types of vaccines in cooperation with major international companies in this field.
Noting that Egypt will have produced 80 million doses of the vaccine by the end of December, Zayed stated that vaccination centres in the country are currently provided with 2 million doses per week of the VACSERA-Sinovac vaccine.
According to the minister, Egypt’s vaccination centres have increased to 850 nationwide, including three large ones that are able to accommodate 60,000 citizens per day.