China has chosen Egypt as its regional African center for producing COVID-19 vaccine that proved effective in curing the virus, announced Egyptian Health Ministry.
Minister of Health Hala Zayed and China's Ambassador to Cairo Liao Liqiang met on Monday to discuss Egypt's participation in Chinese clinical trials on a possible vaccine for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
Ministry of Health Spokesperson Khaled Mogahed said in a statement that the meeting addressed the cooperation between Egypt's Holding Company for Biological Products and Vaccines (VACSERA) and a Chinese company working in the field of drug production.
Mogahed indicated that Egypt will be the African hub for manufacturing China’s vaccine for COVID-19 shortly after proven effective against the pandemic.
The statement added that the quality and capacity of production lines in Egypt will be assessed to begin manufacturing the vaccine once it is developed.
Speaking after the meeting, the Chinese ambassador lauded the cooperation between the two countries to combat the coronavirus and extended Beijing's support to Cairo at all levels.
Liqiang also praised Egyptian medical teams’ success in dealing with the health crisis.
Meanwhile, the Ministry called on the Egyptians to adhere to precautionary and preventive measures, wear masks and maintain social distance, despite the decline in coronavirus cases in the country.
The ministry issued a statement reporting that 512 has been discharged from the hospital after receiving full treatment, bringing the total recoveries in the country to 28,380.
The country's total number of confirmed cases reached 87,775 with 4,302 fatalities. A total of 28,380 cases have recovered and been discharged from quarantine facilities.
In related news, the Egyptian Health Minister directed the ministry officials to send COVID-19 treatment protocols to Yemen to help fight the novel pandemic.
During her meeting with the Yemeni counterpart Nasser Baoom, Zayed announced that Egypt will be providing Yemen with a psychological support program to patients and health service providers infected with the virus.
Egypt will also transfer its experiences in eliminating virus hepatitis C to the Yemeni side, as part of the Egyptian President's initiative.
Also, the Health Minister pledged to discuss a draft law submitted by the government to amend some provisions in the law regulating the affairs of the medical professions.
Speaking at a plenary session, the Minister stated that approving this law during the coronavirus pandemic is important for medical workers in such circumstances, stressing that there are many doctors and workers in the medical field who sacrificed their lives while confronting the COVID-19.
The Minister indicated that she agreed with the chairman of the parliamentary health committee, Mohammed al-Ammari, to discuss the amendments and include other categories of workers in the medical sector.
