London, Nov. 12, 2020 (AltAfrica)-Egypt says it has agreement with the vaccine alliance, GAVI, to secure 20 million doses of Coronavirus vaccine by Pfizer-BioNTech that might be given emergency approval by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

At a cabinet meeting in Cairo, Ministers were informed that people who are more prone to Coronavirus infections, such as doctors, older people, and people suffering from chronic diseases will be given priority, that’s according to a cabinet statement made available to news men

The meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, discussed developments on promising vaccines by Pfizer Inc and BioNTech reportedly shown to be more than 90% effective, a major victory in the fight against the pandemic

Attending the meeting, Health Minister Hala Zayed referenced Pfizer’s earlier announcement that tens of thousands of volunteers participated in the vaccine trials in the United States, Argentina, Brazil, and Germany.

Zayed added that concerned companies then announced that volunteers only suffered from mild to moderate side effects.

It is necessary to define the vaccination strategy and accordingly arrange the population groups based on the priority, so that the most vulnerable categories can get the limited amount of vaccines included in the first batch, based on WHO’s guidelines.

Zayed, in a statement reported by local media, said the reserved doses of the Pfizer- BioNTech vaccine will cover up to 20 percent of the country’s needs.

Egypt has also secured doses of a promising British vaccine developed by Oxford University that will meet around 30 percent of the country’s needs, the minister said.

In July, Egypt was selected by China to serve as a future African hub for manufacturing its possible Coronavirus vaccines, if Beijing develops one.

Trials of two China-made vaccines are being carried out in Egypt in cooperation with the Chinese government and other companies.

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