Coronavirus: Egypt receives second shipment of vaccine as gift from China
- The 300,000-dose shipment of the vaccine manufactured by China’s pharmaceutical giant Sinopharm arrived in Cairo on Saturday
- Egypt is among dozens of nations depending on China to help rescue them from the Covid-19 pandemic
Egypt on Saturday received a second shipment of coronavirus vaccine donated by China, officials said, as the Arab country tries to speed up its vaccination campaign.
The 300,000-dose shipment of the vaccine manufactured by China’s state-owned pharmaceutical giant Sinopharm arrived at Cairo’s international airport early on Saturday, according to the Health Ministry.
Ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed said in a statement that the shipment was a gift from China meant to bolster cooperation between the two nations in the fight against the virus.
Egypt is among dozens of nations depending on China to help rescue them from the Covid-19 pandemic, part of Beijing’s vaccine diplomacy campaign that has been a surprising success.
Megahed said the Egyptian Drug Authority would test the shipment before using it to vaccinate health care workers and elderly people as part of a vaccination campaign the government launched in January.
Egypt had previously received 350,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine as well as a shipment of 50,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. The country has approved the emergency use of the two vaccines.