Egypt Plans to Start Local Production of Moderna Vaccine

A nurse prepares COVID-19 vaccine shot Cairo, Egypt (AP)
A nurse prepares COVID-19 vaccine shot Cairo, Egypt (AP)
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Egypt Plans to Start Local Production of Moderna Vaccine

A nurse prepares COVID-19 vaccine shot Cairo, Egypt (AP)
A nurse prepares COVID-19 vaccine shot Cairo, Egypt (AP)

Egypt seeks to allocate a production line in its Egyptian Holding Company for Biological Products and Vaccines (VACSERA) to manufacture the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.

Minister of Health Hala Zayed met with Moderna representatives via video conference to discuss cooperation to secure coronavirus vaccine doses.

The meeting discussed allocating a production line in VACSERA to manufacture Moderna's vaccine as part of Egypt's efforts to diversify the sources of obtaining vaccines.

The Health Ministry Spokesman, Khaled Megahed, said that Egypt aims to provide vaccine doses to Africa and other countries in cooperation with international companies in this field and a production capacity that could reach three million doses per day.

Zayed invited the Moderna representatives to visit Egypt and check the manufacturing capabilities at the VACSERA factories in the Sixth of October City.

For their part, Modena representatives confirmed readiness to export coronavirus vaccine doses to Egypt and inform the Egyptian Health Ministry of developments regarding the latter's plan to produce the company's vaccine.

On Thursday, the Ministry of Health and Population reported 413 new coronavirus cases, 12 deaths, and 731 recoveries.

Since the pandemic hit the country in February last year, the total number of coronavirus cases has reached 291,585, with 16,836 deaths and 244,793 recoveries.



Lebanon Army Receives Additional $20 Mln from Qatar in Support to Troops

27 June 2024, Lebanon, Jounieh: Lebanese army soldiers from the airborne brigade secure an area as medics help civilians acting as dead and injured of an attack during a drill carried by the Lebanese army, Red Cross and Civil defense in the town of Jounieh, north of Beirut.  Photo: Marwan Naamani/dpa
27 June 2024, Lebanon, Jounieh: Lebanese army soldiers from the airborne brigade secure an area as medics help civilians acting as dead and injured of an attack during a drill carried by the Lebanese army, Red Cross and Civil defense in the town of Jounieh, north of Beirut. Photo: Marwan Naamani/dpa
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Lebanon Army Receives Additional $20 Mln from Qatar in Support to Troops

27 June 2024, Lebanon, Jounieh: Lebanese army soldiers from the airborne brigade secure an area as medics help civilians acting as dead and injured of an attack during a drill carried by the Lebanese army, Red Cross and Civil defense in the town of Jounieh, north of Beirut.  Photo: Marwan Naamani/dpa
27 June 2024, Lebanon, Jounieh: Lebanese army soldiers from the airborne brigade secure an area as medics help civilians acting as dead and injured of an attack during a drill carried by the Lebanese army, Red Cross and Civil defense in the town of Jounieh, north of Beirut. Photo: Marwan Naamani/dpa

The Lebanese army has received an additional $20 million from Qatar in support of Lebanese troops, Lebanon's state agency NNA said on Monday.

The support comes at a crucial time, with the Israeli military and Hezbollah trading fire across Lebanon's southern border in parallel with the Gaza war. The Lebanese army is not involved in the hostilities but one Lebanese soldier was killed by Israeli shelling in December.

A security source told Reuters that the new Qatari aid was a continuation of an earlier
$60 million package announced in 2022 that was distributed in installments to soldiers to support their salaries.

The source said $100 would be distributed to each soldier every month.

A five-year economic meltdown has slashed the value of the Lebanese pound against the dollar, driving down most soldiers' wages to less than $100 per month.

The amount is barely enough to afford a basic subscription to a generator service that could offset the 22-hour cuts in the state electricity grid.

To supplement their low salaries, many troops have taken extra jobs and some have quit, raising concerns that the institution - one of few in Lebanon that can rally national pride and create unity across its fractured sectarian communities - could be fraying.