Minister of Health and Population Hala Zayed announced Thursday that 1,612,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine arrived at Cairo International Airport as a gift to Egypt from the US through COVAX mechanism, an unprecedented global effort between CEPI, Gavi, Unicef, PAHO, and WHO to ensure equitable access to immunization throughout the world.

Assistant Health Minister Mohamed Hassani, Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo Nicole Shampaine and representatives of the WHO and UNICEF were at hand at the airport to witness the arrival of the shipment as part of Egypt’s expansion in providing various types of vaccines to citizens to combat the spread of coronavirus.

Assistant Health Minister for Awareness and Social Interaction Khaled Megahed said the shipment of vaccines will be tested by the Egypt Drug Authority (EDA) before they are being distributed to 1,100 vaccination centers nationwide.

Hassani, for his part, extended thanks for the US support to Egypt through this shipment, noting that it is the first to be delivered to Egypt out of a total of 5 million doses expected to be sent by the US to help the country in its fight against the disease.

He said the shipment was carried through special refrigerators for dry preservation and will be tested at the labs of EDA in a period not exceeding 14 days.

The US charge d’affairs, for his part, underlined the importance of cooperation among governments and the solidarity of peoples around the world to curb the coronavirus pandemic, adding that the US has also sent 250 ventilators to Egypt in August, 2020. He also asserted the US government’s commitment to backing Egypt in view of its leading role in ending the world health crisis.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which is administered in two shots 21 days apart, needs special refrigeration to store vials at the low temperatures of 2°C to 8°C.

Source: State Information Service Egypt