Egypt has received 1,612,260 doses of Pfizer coronavirus vaccines provided by the US government through the "Cofax" mechanism, in cooperation with The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations (GAVI), according to Minister of Health and Population Hala Zayed. Assistant Minister of Health and Population for Public Health Initiatives, Mohamed Hassani; Chargé d'Affaires of the US Embassy in Cairo, Nicole Champagne; and representatives of the World Health Organization and UNICEF, were at reception of the vaccine doses at the Cairo International Airport. This came within the framework of the country's plan to diversify and expand the provision of vaccines to citizens to preserve the benefits of responding to the pandemic. The official spokesperson for the ministry Khaled Megahed, Assistant Minister of Health and Population for Awareness and Community Outreach explained that the "Pfizer" vaccine has emergency use approval from the World Health Organization and the Egyptian Medicines Authority and it is two doses separated by 21 days. He also explained that the shipment of vaccines that have been received and will be subjected to analysis in the laboratories of the Egyptian Medicines Authority before distributing it to the 1100 vaccination centers distributed over the governorates. Hassani, Assistant Minister of Health and Population, thanked the Chargé d'Affaires of the US Ambassador to Egypt, for the United States' support to Egypt with that shipment, pointing out that shipment of Pfizer vaccines is the first in a series of shipments provided by the United States of America to Egypt, amounting to about 5 Millions of doses. Hassani also said that today's shipment of Pfizer vaccines arrived in Egypt in boxes designated for dry preservation, and will be subject to analysis in the laboratories of the Egyptian Medicines Authority within a period not exceeding 14 days, before being distributed to vaccination centers. The Chargé d'Affaires of the US Ambassador to Egypt, Nicole Champagne, stressed the importance of cooperation between governments and people's solidarity during the response to the Coronavirus pandemic, expressing her appreciation for Egypt sending medical supplies to the US at the beginning of the pandemic as it has sent 250 respirators to Egypt in August of 2020, affirming the US government's commitment to Egypt's continued support for its leading role until the end of this global health crisis.
