Egypt has applied to obtain the Covid-19 vaccines from COVAX, Health Minister Hala Zayed announced during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
According to the minister, Egypt has submitted an application to receive the vaccine from COVAX, it’s a scheme led by the GAVI alliance that aims at securing fair global access to the vaccine.
Zayed also added that an “extended” meeting with GAVI will take place, this was according to a statement released by the cabinet after the meeting said, further details have been provided.
Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly has delegated Zayed and Finance Minister Mohamed Maait to implement the needed measures and take necessary steps with GAVI to secure 20 million-dose batch of the COVID-19 vaccine.
This amount will cover up to 20% of the country’s needs, and of course priority goes to medical staff and the elderly, according to previous remarks by Zayed.
Tuesday’s meeting unveiled the measures that the Health ministry has taken to confront the second wave of the virus, it included upgrading the infrastructure of 44 fever and chest hospitals and supplying them with 100 oxygen tanks.
Hospitals’ capacity also saw an increase by 7500 beds, 1500 intensive care beds, 325 ventilators, and 17 CT-scan machines, the statement added.