Egyptian Health Minister Hala Zayed said Tuesday that Egypt is ready to meet the needs of African countries of Covid vaccines.
Egypt will domestically produce vaccines at factories of the Holding Company for Biological Products and Vaccines (VACSERA), Zayed said, adding that once local demands are met it would be willing to supply African countries with vaccines.
Zayed was speaking during a meeting with chairman of the Egyptian Authority for Unified Procurement Dr Bahaa elDin Zidan and board chairman of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) Benedict Oramah to discuss a plan to import Johnson & Johnson vaccines through the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT) system.
The health minister thanked the Egyptian Authority for Unified Procurement for its support during the coronavirus crisis, said Ministry spokesman Dr Khaled Megahed.
Zayed also thanked Afreximbank for helping Egypt get its first shipment of Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which contained 261,600 doses, Megahed added.
Vacsera plants could produce the different types of Covid vaccines and could also distribute them to African countries through the AVAT system, the minister said, adding that this should help settle the vaccine industry in the continent.
Oramah, for his part, said this is the first time that African states used all their resources to secure the vaccine and control the pandemic.
He said he is happy Afreximbank could contribute to the delivery of vaccine doses to members of the African Union, including Egypt.
The local manufacture of the vaccine in Africa is very important, Oramah stressed, calling for an effective partnership with the Egyptian Health Ministry and government to produce other types of vaccines.
He was pleased with the way Egypt and other African countries could handle the pandemic.
AVAT, Oramah added, is willing to cooperate with Egypt in distributing vaccines to the African countries.
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