Egypt has received 2.2 million doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine from the US Government, the Ministry of Health and Population announced late Sunday.
The shipment was obtained via COVAX, an international initiative for the equitable distribution of coronavirus vaccines in co-operation with the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI).
The delivery marks the latest milestone in US-Egypt joint efforts to fight the coronavirus pandemic. To date, the United States has delivered 23.5 million doses of the vaccine to Egypt — more than all other countries in the Middle East and North Africa combined — and encourages all eligible Egyptians to get vaccinated.
Highlighting the importance of co-operation in confronting the pandemic, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated, “A global problem requires a global solution. No one country acting alone can stop the virus.”
The US, through USAID, has provided more than $55 million (LE864 million) in support of Egypt’s coronavirus response.
USAID programmes train healthcare workers, boost small businesses, improve tracking of the virus, and deliver vaccines to the Egyptian people. This support builds on the more than $1 billion (LE15.7 billion) the US has invested in Egypt over the past 40 years to improve healthcare in Egypt.
More than 29.4 million citizens have been fully vaccinated to date, the Health Ministry said.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health and Population reported 2,009 new coronavirus infections on Sunday, bringing the total number of cases since the outbreak began in February 2020 to 469,457.
The ministry also recorded 58 coronavirus-related fatalities, bringing the total death toll to 23,752.
The report added that the total number of recoveries increased to 400,882 after 2,121 patients were discharged from hospitals nationwide in the past 24 hours.
The country suffered a sharp increase in coronavirus cases over the past month before the cases stabilised in recent weeks.
Egypt plans to vaccinate 70 per cent of its eligible population, those who are older than 12 years old, by the second half of 2022.
