The state-owned Vacsera signed two joint manufacturing agreements with China's Sinovac Life Sciences Company to locally produce the vaccine, according to a cabinet statement yesterday. On the other hand, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) signed an agreement with Egypt's Minapharm and its Berlin-based subsidiary ProBioGen AG to manufacture more than 40 million doses annually of the Russian vaccine against coronavirus (COVID-19), Sputnik V. The Russian vaccine will be produced at Minapharm's Cairo-based biotech facility to be distributed globally, Russia's sovereign wealth fund said in a statement on Thursday. The release of the vaccine is forecast to take place in the third quarter (Q3) of 2021. However, Sinovac will provide Vacsera with all technical information related to the jab, while also conducting chemical and mechanical quality control testing of finished products and lab equipment. Under the agreement, Sinovac will also ensure maintenance of Vacsera's manufacturing facilities. The Health Ministry reported 861 new covid-19 infections on Wednesday, up from 855 the day before. Yesterday was the 18th consecutive day our daily infection count increased. Egypt has now disclosed a total of 218,902 confirmed cases of covid-19. The ministry also reported 36 new deaths, bringing the country's total death toll to 12,866.
