Egypt Accelerates Establishment of Covid-19 Vaccines Production Facility

Madbouly visits the local vaccine production factory. (Egyptian government via Facebook)
Madbouly visits the local vaccine production factory. (Egyptian government via Facebook)
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Egypt Accelerates Establishment of Covid-19 Vaccines Production Facility

Madbouly visits the local vaccine production factory. (Egyptian government via Facebook)
Madbouly visits the local vaccine production factory. (Egyptian government via Facebook)

Egypt is moving at a quick pace to establish a complex to produce up to eight kinds of coronavirus vaccines.

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly urged citizens to adhere to the preventive measures as the country grapples with a fourth wave of the pandemic.

The Health and Population Ministry said 255 new coronavirus cases were detected, upping the total to 287,899. Recoveries reached 238,249. Seven people have died from the virus over the past 24 hours, raising the toll to 16,721.

Madbouly said the complex is a massive facility that aims at producing eight types of vaccines.

During a press conference following a tour of the complex at the 6th of October City, he said production capacity at the facility is expected to reach 3 million vaccine doses per day or an average of 1 billion annually.

Madbouly was accompanied by Health Minister Hala Zayed and Giza Governor Ahmed Rashed.

Zayed said that the coronavirus vaccines plant at the Holding Company for Biological Products and Vaccines (VACSERA) complex is planned to produce up to 24,000 packs per hour.

The factory covers 6,000 square meters of the VACSERA complex, she added.

It will be the biggest in the Middle East and North Africa for the production of COVID-19 vaccines, she continued.

Zayed expects the facility to become a regional hub for the production of vaccines planned for export to African countries.

President of VACSERA Heba Wali said the new factory comprised eight central laboratories equipped with the latest devices for measuring production quality and testing manufacturing inputs and the final product according to the standards recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).



Berri to Asharq Al-Awsat: Lebanon's Presidential Elections to Be Held on Time, No Prior Deal over Govt

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. (National News Agency)
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. (National News Agency)
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Berri to Asharq Al-Awsat: Lebanon's Presidential Elections to Be Held on Time, No Prior Deal over Govt

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. (National News Agency)
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. (National News Agency)

Lebanon’s parliament Speaker Nabih Berri stressed on Friday that efforts are ongoing to hold the presidential elections on time on January 9.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, he said he had no intention to delay the elections and he had not received any request to that end from any of the political powers.

Lebanon has been without a head of state since October 2022 when the term of President Michel Aoun ended without the election of a successor. Bickering between the political blocs over a suitable candidate has thwarted the polls.

Efforts are underway to ensure that the elections are a success, declared Berri.

He denied claims that he was seeking understandings over the shape of the new government, including its prime minister, lineup and agenda, ahead of the elections.

The presidential elections come first, he stated.

There are constitutional guidelines that dictate what happens after the elections, he added, referring to the binding parliamentary consultations the new president will hold to name a new prime minister.

The prime minister, in turn, will hold non-binding consultations with lawmakers over the government lineup.

Berri declined to comment on his ally, former MP Walid Jumblatt’s endorsement of army commander Joseph Aoun as president, saying: “Everything will become clear during the elections.”

The speaker had previously said that Aoun’s election requires a constitutional amendment that demands the resignation of first-rank civil servants, including the army commander, at least two years before their election as president.

Aoun, who is not related to Michel Aoun, is projected to win 86 votes in the elections.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah MP Hussein al-Hajj Hassan dismissed the figure, saying no candidate has the needed number of votes to be elected president.

He added that Hezbollah is holding contacts over the elections but it does not have time to reveal what they have yielded.

The results will be revealed during the elections in January, he told the Sputnik news agency.