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Sisi Orders Providing Coronavirus Vaccines Once Internationally Available

A health team at the temporary coronavirus test center in Cairo on June 17, 2020 (AP)
A health team at the temporary coronavirus test center in Cairo on June 17, 2020 (AP)
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Sisi Orders Providing Coronavirus Vaccines Once Internationally Available

A health team at the temporary coronavirus test center in Cairo on June 17, 2020 (AP)
A health team at the temporary coronavirus test center in Cairo on June 17, 2020 (AP)

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has ordered providing vaccines for the novel coronavirus once they are made available by international companies, said Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly on Thursday.

Head of Egypt’s Authority for Unified Procurement, Medical Supply and Technology Management Bahaa El-Din Zidan has recently sent a report to Madbouly on the efforts exerted by his authority to follow up on the latest developments worldwide on the coronavirus vaccines.

Zidan said the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations (GAVI) has presented the available vaccines, the manufacturers, and the different stages of their development, as well as the timetable for the process of manufacturing and exporting the vaccine to various countries.

The vaccines are to be manufactured in September and October and GAVI will adopt a plan for distributing them across the affected countries, he added.

Egypt has reiterated its share of the coronavirus vaccine from GAVI during a meeting held on Tuesday between representatives of the authority and officials from the global alliance, he affirmed.

The GAVI is an international body aimed at creating equal access to new and underused vaccines for children.

Along with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), GAVI co-leads the COVAX Facility, a financing mechanism designed to guarantee rapid and fair access to COVID-19 vaccines worldwide.

It aims to deliver two billion doses of safe, effective COVID-19 vaccines by the end of 2021.

Egypt has recorded 30,075 recoveries from COVID-19 since the pandemic’s outbreak.

The Ministry of Health and Population revealed on Thursday that “the index of recovery and discharge from quarantine centers continued to rise after earlier recording 33.5 percent.”

The relative stability in the rates of coronavirus infections in the country has increased the chances of overcoming the crisis.

The government has been gradually easing virus restrictions since June.

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Will Regional Tensions Stall Palestinian Arms Handover in Lebanon?

A poster in the Shatila Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut shows a Hamas fighter… (AFP) 
A poster in the Shatila Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut shows a Hamas fighter… (AFP) 
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Will Regional Tensions Stall Palestinian Arms Handover in Lebanon?

A poster in the Shatila Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut shows a Hamas fighter… (AFP) 
A poster in the Shatila Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut shows a Hamas fighter… (AFP) 

The escalation of the Israeli-Iranian conflict has disrupted Lebanon’s internal agenda, pausing progress on several sensitive files, including the handover of Palestinian weapons inside refugee camps. The disarmament initiative, which was scheduled to begin this week in Beirut’s camps, has now been delayed amid shifting regional dynamics.

According to official Lebanese sources, Palestinian factions have not yet received any instructions - either from Ramallah or Lebanese security agencies - regarding weapons collection. While this has halted implementation, sources say the file is still active. “The factions requested a grace period before the process begins in Beirut’s camps,” the sources told Asharq Al-Awsat, adding that the plan will instead start in the South.

The phased disarmament will begin in the southern camps under the jurisdiction of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, starting with Al-Buss camp near Tyre, followed by Rashidieh and Al-Burj Al-Shamali. No fixed timeline has been set, and implementation will proceed gradually.

A senior Fatah official, Azzam al-Ahmad, is expected to return to Beirut soon at the head of a security delegation to continue discussions on the framework and logistics of the disarmament plan. Al-Ahmad had visited Lebanon prior to Eid al-Adha to mediate internal Fatah disagreements and met with senior Lebanese security officials during his stay.

Palestinian analyst Hesham Debsi, director of the Tatwir Center for Studies, says the disarmament file has not been shelved. “This is not just a local issue; it’s closely tied to regional developments and international negotiations, particularly the US-Iran nuclear talks,” Debsi said.

He noted that the broader Israeli-Iranian confrontation has forced stakeholders to reconsider the timing of major initiatives, including the Arab-French-international conference previously planned to support the Palestinian state and Lebanese sovereignty.

Debsi emphasized that delays do not signal a reversal in political commitment. A joint statement in May between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun affirmed both parties’ agreement on limiting weapons to the Lebanese state and preventing camps from becoming safe havens for extremist groups.

While preparations are advancing, actual implementation will depend on Lebanon’s political assessment of the right moment to proceed.

Reports of internal dissent within Fatah over the arms file were acknowledged by Debsi but dismissed as resolved. “Some members objected for political or organizational reasons, including feelings of exclusion. Others viewed the decision as hasty,” he said. These concerns, he added, were addressed by the delegation from Ramallah, which also introduced structural reforms in the PLO, the Palestinian embassy, and Fatah’s leadership in Lebanon.

Palestinian armed presence in Lebanon is concentrated across 12 major camps, largely outside state control. Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine dominate these areas. Historically active pro-Syrian factions outside the camps, such as the PFLP-General Command and As-Saiqa, have largely lost their influence, with the Lebanese Army dismantling their remaining bases.