Egypt is expected to receive doses of one of the coronavirus vaccines in May 2021 through the Global Vaccine Alliance and Immunisations (GAVI), according to the Egyptian Cabinet spokesman Nader Saad. Saad said in a phone interview with a local TV channel on Wednesday that Egypt would be one of the first countries to receive the vaccine, but not before the first half of 2021. The GAVI has already a long list of requests from different countries to get the much-awaited vaccine, the Egyptian official explained. The global alliance will help Egypt obtain the vaccine at an affordable price, much lower than the market price, saad said. Alongside other international organisations, GAVI aims to guarantee rapid and fair access to coronavirus vaccines worldwide, mainly for middle-income and least developed countries. "Egypt will be one of the first countries to receive the vaccine but that will not happen in January [...] may be in the first half of 2021 in May," Saad added. The global alliance is waiting for the trial vaccines to obtain the necessary emergency authorisation from the World Health Organisation (WHO) in order to meet the countries' demands, he said. The vaccine that receives the emergency approval will be provided to the country, the official noted. Egypt's Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouli has earlier delegated Ministers of Health and Finance to take the necessary measures and procedures to contract GAVI to provide the country with a 20 million-dose batch of the coronavirus vaccine. The amount would cover up to 20 percent of the country's needs, mainly medical staffers and most vulnerable categories to the disease, Health Minister Hala Zayed said in previous statement.
