Egyptian Drug Authority (EDA), the country's drugs regulator, has approved the emergency use of the British AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine -- manufactured by India's Serum Institute of India and marketed as Covishield in India -- only hours before the delivery of the first batch of the vaccine to Egypt. This is the second covid-19 vaccine to be approved on an emergency basis in Egypt following the authorization of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine earlier this month. "The Egyptian Drug Authority approved yesterday the emergency use of the Covishield vaccines, produced by the Indian Serum institute, which contracted to transfer the vaccine manufacturing technology from the British company, AstraZeneca," EDA's Spokesperson Ali Al-Ghamrawy said in a statement on Sunday. He added that the vaccine underwent the necessary evaluation processes in the departments and laboratories of the Drug Authority as per the global and local rules to ensure the safety, quality and effectiveness of the vaccine. The EDA is currently studying and evaluating other vaccines, the statement added. Last week, Egypt's Unified Procurement Authority announced it had signed a deal with Russia's R-Pharma and India's Serum Institute to purchase 20 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, part of a total 100 million doses targeted by the Egyptian government. A 50,000-does shipment of AstraZeneca vaccine is on its way to the country, according to presidential adviser for health affairs Mohamed Awad Tag El-Din. The AstraZeneca vaccine requires two doses administered 21 days apart akin to other vaccines, but without the need for ultra-cold storage, a feature that makes it easier to roll out in hot countries and remote locations. Egypt has vaccinated hundreds of medical staffers nationwide as a first step in the country's vaccination campaign, which kicked off last Sunday. Egypt has received a 50,000-dose batch from Sinopharm vaccines in December. The country's vaccination priority list starts with the frontline healthcare workers at the isolation, fever, chest and screening hospitals, followed by kidney failure and cancer patients, then the elderly.
