CAIRO, June 7 (Reuters) - Egypt received 500,000 doses of
China's Sinovac coronavirus vaccine on monday, airport sources
said, as the health ministry said local production of the
Chinese vaccine will start in mid-June.
Egypt received raw materials for the production of two
million Sinovac doses in May, after signing an agreement to
produce the vaccine locally and distribute it in Egypt and other
African countries.
The first vials are due to be produced on June 15 and up to
six weeks will be needed for checks before they are put to use
in vaccination centres, Health Minister Hala Zayed told the
private MBC Masr TV channel late on Sunday.
Egypt expects raw materials for a further 4.2 million
Sinovac doses this month, Zayed said, and aims to produce 40
million doses this year.
Cairo also expects to sign an agreement soon with an
international company to produce a European vaccine in Egypt,
Zayed said without elaborating. The cabinet said previously that
Egypt is seeking to produce the AstraZeneca vaccine locally.
Egypt, which has received several million AstraZeneca and
Sinopharm doses, has said it aims to vaccinate 40% of its
population of just over 100 million by the end of 2021.
(Reporting by Abdelnasser Abolfadl and Mahmoud Mourad; editing
by Andrew Heavens)