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)
TT

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.



G7 Foreign Ministers Say 'Now is the Time' for Lebanon Ceasefire

Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs, after Israeli strikes, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Ashrafieh, Lebanon, November 26, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs, after Israeli strikes, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Ashrafieh, Lebanon, November 26, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
TT

G7 Foreign Ministers Say 'Now is the Time' for Lebanon Ceasefire

Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs, after Israeli strikes, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Ashrafieh, Lebanon, November 26, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs, after Israeli strikes, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Ashrafieh, Lebanon, November 26, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

Foreign Ministers from the G7 democracies on Tuesday upped the pressure on Israel to accept a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah in Lebanon, saying "now is the time to conclude a diplomatic settlement."

In a draft statement at the end of a two-day meeting in Italy, the G7 ministers urged Israel to facilitate humanitarian aid delivery to Palestinians, and condemned increasing settler violence in the West Bank, Reuters reported.

The ministers also condemned recent attack on the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and expressed their support for the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, saying it plays a "vital role."