Egypt has administered over 5.65 million COVID-19 doses since January 2021.
Countries all over the globe continue to see increasing cases of COVID-19 in recent weeks. While Egypt has already ridden out its third wave of the pandemic in June, the nation is still not an exception.
Despite this, the country is trying to pick up the pace of its vaccination efforts across its vicinity. As this dynamic goes, so is the arrival of the doses.
On Monday, Egypt welcomed the first batch of the Johnson & Johnson vaccines. The country’s health ministry announced the matter on the same, according to Reuters.
First shipment of Johnson & Johnson vaccine in Egypt
Ministry Spokesman Khaled Megahed said in a statement that the shipment has 261,600 doses of the one-shot vaccines. He also stated that they will distribute the jabs to the 126 vaccination centers across the country. But, the doses are “specifically for those who want to travel abroad,” he added.
Apart from the Johnson & Johnson doses, Egypt has also received various shipments of other COVID-19 vaccines. These reportedly include the Sputnik, Sinopharm, and Oxford-AstraZeneca shots via COVAX.
The publication, later on, noted that the country recently began producing Sinovac’s vaccines locally. This comes after the deal between the vaccine maker and VACSERA, a holding company for biological products and vaccines, pushed through.
The country’s vaccination rate, status
Egypt, however, is one of the countries with the lowest vaccination rates. As of August 5, only 1.8 percent of its total population are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. This number equates to about 1.81 million.
Meanwhile, over 3.84 million individuals have already received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in the country. This is about 3.8 percent of its overall population.
The nation’s Prime Minister reportedly said that the government was aiming to vaccinate about 40 percent of the country’s population of more than 100 million. The statement emerged earlier in June, adding that the goal was set for the end of the year.
COVID-19 situation across the nation
The coronavirus situation in the country appears to be on a steady pace. It is reportedly recording about 54 new cases per day, on an average note. As added, it is 3 percent of the peak, which was recorded during the third wave of the pandemic in June.
On August 8, Egypt tallied 65 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the cumulative total to 284,706. As for the number of deaths, it recorded 9 cases on the same day, taking the overall death toll to 16,575 as per Worldometer.
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