Egypt: Up to 129 Million COVID-19 Vaccine Doses Available

Caption: An Egyptian citizen receives the coronavirus vaccine. (Egyptian Health Ministry)
Caption: An Egyptian citizen receives the coronavirus vaccine. (Egyptian Health Ministry)
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Egypt: Up to 129 Million COVID-19 Vaccine Doses Available

Caption: An Egyptian citizen receives the coronavirus vaccine. (Egyptian Health Ministry)
Caption: An Egyptian citizen receives the coronavirus vaccine. (Egyptian Health Ministry)

Egypt has announced that 129 million COVID-19 vaccine doses are available for its citizens amid officials' expectations of surge in Omicron cases.

Acting Health Minister Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar said the whole world is witnessing a surge in coronavirus infections, including Egypt.

He pointed to the highly transmissible Omicron coronavirus variant, stressing that the number of cases reported does not determine the current epidemiological situation.

The Omicron variant is expected to sweep the world during the coming three weeks, Abdel-Ghaffar noted in televised statements on Friday.

Common Omicron symptoms include sore throat, congestion, runny nose and headache, all of which are flu-like symptoms, the minister said, adding that occasionally there can be nausea and diarrhea, and other people may have muscle aches, fever and chills.

According to the minister, health authorities in Cairo are using the same treatment protocols for Omicron cases.

Scientific research has proven that the vaccines help overcome symptoms and do not prevent infection, he stated, warning that unvaccinated people are more likely to need hospitalization and suffer severe symptoms.

For its part, the Health Ministry underscored Saturday the importance of vaccination.

It issued a statement advising people to isolate as soon as they feel any flu symptoms and head directly to the hospital in case they had any respiratory problems.



Palestinians in West Bank Strike to Demand End to Gaza War

Israeli machinery maneuvers during an Israeli operation in Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta/File Photo
Israeli machinery maneuvers during an Israeli operation in Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta/File Photo
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Palestinians in West Bank Strike to Demand End to Gaza War

Israeli machinery maneuvers during an Israeli operation in Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta/File Photo
Israeli machinery maneuvers during an Israeli operation in Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta/File Photo

Shuttered storefronts lined empty streets in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank on Monday, as Palestinians held a general strike demanding an end to the Gaza war.

"I walked through the city today and couldn't find a single place that was open," Fadi Saadi, a shopkeeper in Bethlehem, told AFP.

Shops, schools and most public administrative offices were closed across the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967.

A coalition of Palestinian political movements -- including rivals Fatah and Hamas -- called the strike to protest what they described as "the genocide and the ongoing massacre of our people".

It called for the strike "in all the occupied Palestinian territories, in the refugee camps... and among those who support our cause".

Israel resumed airstrikes on Gaza on March 18, ending nearly two months of ceasefire with Hamas. Dozens of Palestinians have been killed almost daily since Israel restarted its military offensive.

"We close today about our family in Gaza, our children in Gaza," said Imad Salman, 68, who owns a souvenir shop in Jerusalem's Old City.

"In Jerusalem, in the West Bank, we can't do something more than what we're doing here now," he told AFP.

In Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, the usually bustling commercial Salaheddin street was empty.

"This strike is in solidarity with Gaza and what is happening there, and the war being waged against the Palestinian people, whether by (US President Donald) Trump, (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu, the Israeli government, or the American government," said Ahmed, who did not want to his surname.

"This war must stop, the killing and destruction must stop, and only peace should prevail -- peace, and nothing but peace."

A rally is planned Monday in the center of the West Bank city of Ramallah, where the Palestinian Authority has its headquarters.

"This time, the strike is serious, and the population's commitment is significant because Israeli aggression now affects all Palestinian households, whether in the West Bank or Gaza," said Issam Baker, a community organiser in Ramallah.

"We have seen total commitment in support of the strike today throughout the West Bank, which has not happened since October 7" 2023, when the Gaza war started, said a security source from the Palestinian Authority.

Since the start of the Gaza war, violence has soared in the West Bank.

Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 918 Palestinians, including militants, in the territory since then, according to health ministry figures.

Palestinian attacks and clashes during military raids have killed at least 33 Israelis, including soldiers, over the same period, according to official figures.