Cooperating with China, Egypt seeks to become COVID-19 vaccine self-sufficient, regional exporter

CAIRO, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Egypt on Monday celebrated the local production of the first 1 million doses of China's Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine, seeking to meet domestic demand and then export to other countries in the region.

Egyptian Holding Company for Biological Products and Vaccines (VACSERA) and Chinese biopharmaceutical company Sinovac signed two agreements in April to jointly manufacture the Sinovac vaccine in VACSERA's factory in the North African country.

The first agreement enables the Egyptian side to obtain the expertise and technical assistance to produce the vaccine, while the second one gives the VACSERA the license to manufacture and pack the vaccine in its factory.

IMPORTANT STEP TOWARDS SELF-SUFFICIENCY

"Manufacturing the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine at the factories of VACSERA makes Egypt the first Arab and African country to produce the coronavirus vaccines," Mohammed Eid, director of Abbasia Chest Hospital in Cairo, told Xinhua.

Producing the vaccine locally will have a great impact on controlling the pandemic, not only in Egypt but also in Arab and African countries, he said.

"This move will enable Egypt to achieve great successes in controlling the spread of the virus ... Egypt is very qualified to produce the vaccines since it has a very strong scientific and technological base," he added.

In addition to the health and technological benefits, Eid said, Egypt will also have economic gains from providing the vaccine to regional countries.

He stressed that the Chinese approval of the production of the Sinovac vaccine in Egypt proves China's confidence in Egypt's scientific, technological and industrial capabilities.

"This also means that China and Egypt are keen to strengthen their mutual cooperation for the interest of the two peoples," he added.

Egypt is also seeking to expand its production capacity of the Chinese vaccine. Last week, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly told reporters that his government is in talks with the Chinese side to double the supply of vaccine raw materials in order to produce 600,000 doses per day.

INTERNATIONAL ADMIRATION

The World Health Organization (WHO) welcomed the cooperation between Egypt and China in producing Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine in Egypt.

"The cooperation between Egypt and China is a successful model for international cooperation and transfer of global expertise, which contributes to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)," said Naeema Al-Gasseer, WHO representative in Egypt, in a statement last week.

The WHO official said that the cooperation between Egypt and China in this regard helps achieve Goal 3.8 of the SDGs, concerning "access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines."

The WHO also appreciates Egypt's plan to vaccinate 40 percent of its citizens and residents by the end of this year, saying it is consistent with the organization's call.

It valued Egypt's plan to "achieve self-sufficiency in vaccines to become a center for exporting vaccines in Africa."

So far, some 52 African countries have acquired more than 70 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).

Africa CDC, the specialized healthcare agency of the African Union, said around 1.19 percent of Africa's population have been fully vaccinated.

Five countries, namely Morocco, Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa and Algeria have acquired and administered the most doses of COVID-19 vaccines to their respective populations, according to the agency.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa reached 5,919,408 as of Sunday afternoon, Africa CDC said.