Egypt authorizes use of Chinese sinopharm vaccine
Coronavirus: Egypt authorizes use of Chinese sinopharm vaccine
The Sinopharm laboratory has announced that its vaccine, to be distributed in China and developing countries, is 79% effective
Egypt has authorized the use of the Covid-19 vaccine developed by The Chinese laboratory Sinopharm, Egyptian Health and Population Minister Hala Zayed announced saturday. After a first batch of vaccines, comprising 50,000 doses and delivered in December, Egypt must receive a second batch of the same amount "the second or third week of January". "And as soon as he arrives we will start vaccination," the minister said on MBC Masr.
The ministry had announced that the first beneficiaries would be members of the medical teams. In total, according to Hala Zayed, Egypt plans to buy 40 million doses of sinopharm vaccine.
A 79% effective vaccine
China's Sinopharm laboratory announced on Wednesday that its vaccine, to be distributed in China and developing countries, is 79% effective. This figure is lower than the US-German Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine (95%) and that of the American biotechnology company Moderna (94.1%). The UK's AstraZeneca, a partner at the University of Oxford, claimed a 70% efficacy rate, but that could be as high as 100% with two doses.
Hala Zayed also announced that a first batch of AstraZeneca vaccines was to arrive "in the third or fourth week of January" and that a contract with the British firm is "in the process of being finalized". In addition, "negotiations are underway with Pfizer," she added.
Source:- Flash News and News Agencies