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Egypt Ready to Meet Africa’s Needs for COVID-19 Vaccines

The Egyptian Minister of Health with the African Bank delegation in Cairo. (Egyptian government)
The Egyptian Minister of Health with the African Bank delegation in Cairo. (Egyptian government)
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Egypt Ready to Meet Africa’s Needs for COVID-19 Vaccines

The Egyptian Minister of Health with the African Bank delegation in Cairo. (Egyptian government)
The Egyptian Minister of Health with the African Bank delegation in Cairo. (Egyptian government)

Egypt is ready to meet the needs of African countries for coronavirus vaccines through the local production of vaccines in the factories of the state-owned Vacsera company.

Egyptian Minister of Health Hala Zayed met with Chairman of the Unified Procurement Authority Bahaa el-Din Zidan and Chairman of the African Export-Import Bank (AEIB) Benedict Oramah to discuss the supply of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine to African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT).

AVAT, in cooperation with AEIB, is part of the country’s plan to diversify and expand the provision of coronavirus vaccines.

The first batch of 261,600 Johnson and Johnson doses arrived on Monday in cooperation with the African Union (AU), as part of a series of shipments. Egypt is expected to receive 700,000 shots of the vaccine.

Zayed said the production capacity of Vacsera is ready to manufacture the vaccines and distribute them in African countries to localize the vaccine industry.

The meeting also dealt with Egypt’s readiness to meet the needs of African countries for medicines to treat malaria, AIDS, Ebola, and others.

Egypt can manufacture various types of vaccines and is ready to transfer them and drug manufacturing technology and send medical teams throughout the continent, announced Zayed.

The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the African Export and Import Bank lauded the role of AVAT, stressing that this is the first time African countries harness all their resources to provide vaccines with complete control over the management of the pandemic to preserve the health of African citizens.

He expressed his happiness with the Bank’s participation, noting that vaccines will be sent to African Union member states, including Egypt, where it is expected that vaccine shipments will increase in September.

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Four Bodies, Four Survivors Recovered from Egypt Red Sea Sinking, Says Governor

Sea Story had no technical problems, obtained all required permits prior to the trip, and was last checked for naval safety in March. (Red Sea Governorate on Facebook)
Sea Story had no technical problems, obtained all required permits prior to the trip, and was last checked for naval safety in March. (Red Sea Governorate on Facebook)
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Four Bodies, Four Survivors Recovered from Egypt Red Sea Sinking, Says Governor

Sea Story had no technical problems, obtained all required permits prior to the trip, and was last checked for naval safety in March. (Red Sea Governorate on Facebook)
Sea Story had no technical problems, obtained all required permits prior to the trip, and was last checked for naval safety in March. (Red Sea Governorate on Facebook)

Rescuers on Tuesday recovered four bodies and four survivors a day after a diving boat capsized off Egypt's eastern coast, Red Sea governor Amr Hanafi said, with eight people still missing.

Among the survivors were two Belgians, one Swiss national and one Egyptian, the governor said, bringing the total number of survivors from the vessel to 32. The four dead have not yet been identified and eight people remain missing.

"Rescue operations are ongoing today, supported by a military helicopter and a frigate in addition to multiple divers," Hanafi told AFP.

The vessel was carrying 31 tourists of multiple nationalities and a 13-member crew when it was hit by a large wave early on Monday, leading it to capsize near Marsa Alam in southeastern Egypt. The "Sea Story" had embarked on a multi-day diving trip on Sunday and had been due to dock on Friday at the town of Hurghada, 200 kilometres (124 miles) north.

The governor on Monday said the boat had sunk within 5-7 minutes of its impact with the wave, leaving some passengers -- among them European, Chinese and American tourists -- unable to escape their cabins in time.

- Survivors -

Rescuers from the military and a passing tourist boat had pulled 28 people from the waters on Monday. According to a source at a hospital in Marsa Alam, six tourists and three Egyptians were admitted with minor injuries and discharged on Monday.

The tourists included "two Germans, two Britons, one Spaniard and one Swiss national," the hospital administrator told AFP, requesting anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

According to the governor's office, the boat was carrying tourists from Belgium, Britain, China, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland and the United States.

Among the missing are two Polish and two Finnish tourists, according to both countries' foreign ministries.

Authorities have said the vessel was fully licensed and had passed all its inspection checks. A preliminary investigation showed no technical fault.

The Marsa Alam area experienced at least two similar boat accidents earlier this year but there were no fatalities. The Red Sea coast is a major tourist destination in Egypt, a country of 107 million that is in the grip of a serious economic crisis.

Nationally, the tourism sector employs two million people and generates more than 10 percent of its GDP.

Dozens of dive boats crisscross between Red Sea coral reefs and islands off Egypt's eastern coast every day, where safety regulations are robust but unevenly enforced.

Earlier this month, 30 people were rescued from a sinking dive boat near the Red Sea's Daedalus reef. In June, two dozen French tourists were evacuated safely before their boat sank in a similar accident.

Last year, three British tourists died when a fire broke out on their yacht.