Egypt is preparing to export locally-manufactured COVID-19 vaccines to African nations, looking forward to becoming a hub for inoculations on the continent grappling with the virus.
Egyptian authorities are expected to discuss potential export plans with a Chinese delegation in late February, Bloomberg news site quoted Heba Wali, president of the state-run Holding Company for Biological Products and Vaccines (Vacsera), as saying.
The move comes as a government official said a batch of locally made Sinovac vaccines had been sent to the Palestinian territories, in the first overseas shipment.
Negotiations are also underway to provide neighboring Libya with the Sinovac vaccine, according to Wali.
She said other African countries had requested shipments, without identifying them, saying distribution could be via the COVAX alliance or direct payments, depending on circumstances.
The World Health Organization said on Friday that Egypt is one of six African countries that will be given technology to produce mRNA vaccines.
Egypt has so far manufactured 27 million-30 million Sinovac doses and has the capacity to create a total of 100 million in 2022, acting Minister of Health and Population Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar said on Sunday.
It recently sent 500,000 Sinovac doses to the Palestinians, he added.
Talks are underway with AstraZeneca Plc on the possibility of producing its vaccine in Egypt, Wali said.
