Egypt detected 639 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, bringing the total infections tally nationwide to 189,000 since the outbreak last year, a statement by the health ministry said. The ministry also reported 41 new deaths, bringing overall fatalities from the virus nationwide to 11,169. The statement added that 505 patients have been discharged from hospitals over the past 24 hours to mark total recoveries at 145,923. Vaccination campaign underway Egypt is proceeding with the second phase of its vaccination campaign against the contagion that targets the elderly and people with chronic diseases. Beginning with frontline health workers countrywide, Egypt has launched its vaccination campaign on 24 January using the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine alongside the British-Swedish Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. As of the beginning of March, Egyptians, who are above the age of 18, have been allowed to apply for vaccination online via a designated website, with priority have been given to the most vulnerable groups. These groups include patients with chronic diseases such as chronic chest diseases, diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney failure, immunodeficiency, and oncology, in addition to the elderly, according to the country's Ministry of Health. People inoculated with the Sinopharm vaccine receive a second dose after 21 days, while those inoculated with the AstraZeneca vaccine take the second dose after 12 weeks. The country has so far received 350,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine and 50,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. It is eyeing a near-delivery of 8.6 million doses from 40 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisations (GAVI), an international scheme aiming to ensure equal access to new and underused vaccines.
