“The number of cases in Egypt is less than those in many countries, although we are currently experiencing the second wave of the virus” CAIRO: Egypt is providing 20 million coronavirus vaccine doses after signing an official agreement with a worldwide health foundation, according to a presidential adviser. Mohamed Awad Taj El-Din said that contact had been made with Gavi for supplies of the jab. “The Egyptian state, with all its bodies, has been following up on COVID-19 vaccines continuously since the announcement of the first vaccine,” said the adviser. “There is an agreement signed by Egypt with Gavi, which is entrusted with distributing vaccines worldwide and approving vaccines with the World Health Organization.” The provision of vaccines required many approvals and clinical trials of the vaccines had taken place in Egypt, he added. There were Chinese, UK and US vaccines and the country already had an existing quantity of vaccines and prioritized their distribution. El-Din said that, until the coronavirus vaccines were provided and the inoculation process began, people must be careful and follow preventive measures to avoid the spread of the virus. The adviser pointed out the increase in the number of coronavirus cases and that the number announced by the Ministry of Health every night was also increasing. Some patients could be treated at home as a result of the experiences gained from the first wave in dealing with simple, stable cases among people who did not suffer from chronic diseases. “The number of cases in Egypt is less than those in many countries, although we are currently experiencing the second wave of the virus.” The Ministry of Health said that clinical tests of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine may soon begin in Egypt. “The scientific committee submitted its report to Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly regarding Egypt"s priorities in obtaining vaccines, using the Chinese Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines and then the AstraZeneca Oxford vaccine as a second option,” assistant minister of health and population for public health initiatives, Mohamed Hassani, said. “We started the contract for the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine, whose experiments were conducted in Egypt, and we received its first shipments of 50,000 doses. During the coming period we will receive other shipments, and then we will contract with the International Vaccine Federation to provide 20 percent of our AstraZeneca vaccine needs,” Hassani added. “We now have the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine and the AstraZeneca vaccine, in addition to the Russian Sputnik vaccine that has been submitted to the Ministry of Health’s clinical research file, and it is assumed that they will soon start clinical studies in Egypt.” The CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, Kirill Dmitriev, previously said that there was a possibility of starting production of the Sputnik V vaccine in both Egypt and Algeria. On Sept. 30, the fund concluded an agreement with pharmaceutical company Pharco to provide Egypt with 25 million doses of Sputnik V, the world’s first registered coronavirus vaccine.