Egypt Urges Citizens to Get Vaccinated Against COVID

Madbouly and Zayed during the launch of a campaign to encourage citizens to receive the vaccine (Egyptian Cabinet's Facebook page)
Madbouly and Zayed during the launch of a campaign to encourage citizens to receive the vaccine (Egyptian Cabinet's Facebook page)
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Egypt Urges Citizens to Get Vaccinated Against COVID

Madbouly and Zayed during the launch of a campaign to encourage citizens to receive the vaccine (Egyptian Cabinet's Facebook page)
Madbouly and Zayed during the launch of a campaign to encourage citizens to receive the vaccine (Egyptian Cabinet's Facebook page)

Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly launched on Wednesday a campaign to enhance public confidence in the effectiveness and safety of coronavirus vaccines and help citizens to register for vaccination.

Madbouly said, “I hope these efforts succeed in encouraging citizens to register for vaccination, especially with the increasing rate of infection."

"I hope the campaign helps people realize the importance of COVID-19 vaccines, as they contribute significantly to either avoiding infection or alleviating its severity.”

Egypt’s Ministry of Health and Population on Tuesday reported 503 new coronavirus cases and 10 deaths.

A total of 293,951 cases have been disclosed in Egypt, alongside 16,895 deaths and 247,450 recoveries.

During his inspection of a pop-up vaccination bus to encourage citizens to get a COVID-19 jab, in the presence of Health Minister Hala Zayed, Madbouly stressed the importance of receiving the vaccine to get protection against infection or reduce the severity of COVID-19 symptoms.

The campaign is in line with President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi's directives to expand vaccine access, the health minister said.

She added that the campaign will be launched in Cairo, Giza, and Alexandria governorates in the initial stage and later in other governorates.

Concerning the local manufacturing of the COVID-19 vaccine, Zayed said that 5 million doses have been produced so far.

Between September 11 and 30, about 17 million doses of different COVID-19 vaccine types, including AstraZeneca, Sinovac, Sinopharm, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, Sputnik, and Pfizer, will be provided.



Hezbollah Chief Pledges to Coordinate with Lebanese Army to Implement Truce

A view of the destruction in the southern Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 29 November 2024. (EPA)
A view of the destruction in the southern Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 29 November 2024. (EPA)
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Hezbollah Chief Pledges to Coordinate with Lebanese Army to Implement Truce

A view of the destruction in the southern Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 29 November 2024. (EPA)
A view of the destruction in the southern Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 29 November 2024. (EPA)

The head of Hezbollah, Sheikh Naim Qassem, pledged on Friday to coordinate closely with the Lebanese army to implement a ceasefire deal with Israel, which he said his group had agreed to "with heads held high".

It was his first address since a ceasefire came into effect on Wednesday after more than a year of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel that decimated swathes of Lebanon and killed 4,000 people including hundreds of women and children.

Qassem said Hezbollah had "approved the deal, with the resistance strong in the battlefield, and our heads held high with our right to defend (ourselves)."

The ceasefire stipulates that Hezbollah will withdraw from areas south of the Litani river, which runs some 30 km (20 miles) north of the border with Israel, and that the Lebanese army will deploy troops there as Israeli ground troops withdraw.

"There will be high-level coordination between the Resistance (Hezbollah) and the Lebanese army to implement the commitments of the deal," Qassem said.

The Lebanese army has already sent additional troops to the south but is preparing a detailed deployment plan to share with Lebanon's cabinet, security sources and officials have said.

That effort has been complicated by the continuing presence of Israeli troops on Lebanese territory. The deal grants them a full 60 days to complete their withdrawal.

The Israeli military has issued restrictions on people returning to villages along Lebanon's border with Israel and has fired at people in those villages in recent days, calling those movements a violation of the truce.

Both the Lebanese army and Hezbollah have accused Israel of breaching the ceasefire in those instances, and by launching an airstrike above the Litani River on Thursday.

Qassem said the group had scored a "divine victory" against Israel even greater than that declared after the two foes last fought in 2006.

"To those that were betting that Hezbollah would be weakened, we are sorry, their bets have failed," he said.