Egypt's Ministry of Health and Population has announced that the first shipment of the updated Pfizer vaccine arrived at Cairo International Airport yesterday, totaling 599,040 doses produced by Pfizer and donated by France and Sweden through the COVAX mechanism, in cooperation with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
The shipment is part of 2 million doses arriving in Egypt in succession this week, as part of the state's plan to diversify and expand the supply of COVID-19 vaccines and preserve Egypt's gains in tackling the pandemic, according to a statement published on the ministry's official Facebook page.
Dr. Hossam Abdel Ghaffar, the ministry's official spokesperson, said the updated Pfizer vaccine is effective against variants of the novel coronavirus, including Omicron, explaining that it will be given as a booster dose to those who have received previous doses of different vaccine types.
He added that the shipment will be distributed to vaccination centers across the country's governorates once the necessary tests have been completed by the Egyptian Drug Authority, noting that the updated Pfizer vaccine has been approved by the World Health Organization and the Egyptian Drug Authority.
The Ministry of Health and Population urged citizens to register on the ministry's website to receive COVID-19 vaccines, stressing that the state is sparing no effort to provide vaccines to citizens free of charge in all governorates, and is always keen to reach citizens in remote areas and deliver vaccines to them, helping to maintain community immunity.
