Laboratory workers supervise the production of the Sinovac vaccine, produced by Vacsera, in Cairo. Photographer: Khaled Desouki/AFP/Getty Images
Egypt will start shipping locally-made Covid-19 vaccines to other African nations in the next month and a half, Health Minister Hala Zayed said Thursday.
Addressing reporters in the capital, Cairo, she didn’t give further details on the types or amounts of vaccines, nor how they were being paid for.
The Arab world’s most populous nation is seeking to become a hub for vaccine exports, with Egyptian company Vacsera this year starting to produce Sinovac using materials sent from China.
Zayed also said authorities were in discussions with Moderna Inc. to produce its vaccine locally and plan to begin negotiations with BioNTech SE.
Health Ministry official Mohamed Hassani told Bloomberg at the same event that 15 million people had received vaccinations in Egypt so far, with 5 million of them getting two doses.
