Egypt launches Covid-19 vaccination campaign

Health workers given priority in country's push to immunise population against virus

(L to R) Egyptian Health Minister Hala Zayed gives a press conference, accompanied by doctor Abdelmouim Selem and medical staff member Ahmed Hemdan, in a tent set up outside the Abou Khalifa hospital, in Ismailia after the two men received a dose of a coronavirus vaccine. AFPShow less

A doctor at a hospital treating coronavirus patients in Egypt’s Suez Canal city of Ismailia on Sunday became the first person in the nation to be vaccinated.

Dr Abdel Monaim Salim, who is in his 30s, was injected with the vaccine from Chinese company Sinopharm in Ismailia’s Abu Khalifa hospital, as Health Minister Hala Zayed looked on.

“I work at the hospital’s intensive care unit, where my chances of infection are greater than anyone else,” Dr Salim said after his vaccination.

“The vaccine is certainly less of a danger than what I am exposed to at work. I believe in and trust the vaccine.”

Ms Zayed, who has been the face of the government’s campaign to contain the virus since it hit last year, said medical staff dealing with Covid-19 patients were the top priority in the government’s vaccine campaign.

Next come medical staff handling non-Covid-19 patients and then elderly people with chronic or immunity-related conditions.

At least 300 doctors have died with Covid-19 since the outbreak in February last year, while at least 5,000 were infected with the deadly respiratory disease.

Medical personnel checks an X-ray at the Imbaba Fevers Hospital in Cairo. EPA

A woman wears a protective face mask, amid concerns over the coronavirus disease in Cairo, Egypt. Reuters

An Imam makes the Adaan call to prayer inside an empty mosque after the government banned all religious activities due to the coronavirus outbreak in Cairo. AP

A man wears a protective face mask while walking through a sanitizing gate in Cairo. Reuters

People at the Imbaba Fevers Hospital in Cairo, Egypt. EPA

Medical personnel check the body temperature of a man at the Imbaba Fevers Hospital in Cairo. EPA

A doctor checks a patient at the Imbaba Fevers Hospital in Cairo. EPA

Medical personnel with patients at the Imbaba Fevers Hospital in Cairo. EPA

Aya Dessouky, public relations specialist at the Giza Systems Education Foundation, packs a newly-fabricated protective face shield before sending it for use by medical professionals treating Covid-19 coronavirus patients. AFP

A police checkpoint at the area of the Cairo suburb of Maadi during a night-time curfew to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Reuters

A man wearing a protective face mask walks in street in Cairo. EPA

Closed shops along Khayamiya Street in the old city of the Egyptian capital Cairo, almost empty due to the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. AFP

A member of the medical staff at the infectious diseases unit of the Imbaba hospital in Cairo. AFP

A man wearing a protective face mask walks near a granite symbol hand of peace, amid concerns over the coronavirus disease. Reuters

A woman wearing a protective face mask sits inside an empty metro train, as she travels on a line Shubra Al Khaimah to Tahrir Square. Reuters

Egyptian policemen patrol the Qasr Nile bridge to ensure people abiding by restrictions during the national holiday of Sham El-Nessim. EPA

The Great pyramids lighten-up with blue light and reading with a laser projection the message "Stay Home" on the Giza plateau outside the Egyptian capital of Cairo. AFP

A medical worker disinfects an ambulance which transported a possible patient with coronavirus Covid-19 at fever hospital in Embaba district. EPA

“We will never forget them. Their memory will forever be in our hearts,” Ms Zayed said.

Sunday’s vaccination came as the country was gripped by a second wave of the virus.

The Health Ministry has for the past week reported about 1,000 new infections daily and fewer than 60 fatalities.

But government officials and experts said that while the ministry’s figures were a reliable indicator of the curve, the cases might be 10 times those numbers.

Fearing an economic meltdown, the government is determined not to order a repeat of the March-July lockdown that battered the economy and hurt businesses.

Its message has chiefly centred around preventive measures such as wearing masks in crowded public places and keeping distance.

Egypt, home to more than 100 million people, took delivery of the Sinopharm vaccine in December and, Ms Zayed said, reserved as many as 100 million doses of this and other vaccines.

She said more vaccines were due to arrive in the next few days from various sources, but she gave no details.

Medical workers will receive the vaccination at their workplace, while ordinary Egyptians will receive it at centres in each of the country’s 27 provinces.

It will be given free of charge to Egyptians who cannot afford to pay and to wealthier people at a small fee, Ms Zayed said.

“Egypt today became the first nation in Africa to roll out a vaccination programme,” she said.

Cairo also held talks with representatives of several pharmaceutical companies producing coronavirus vaccines to make them locally, Ms Zayed said.

“We aim to meet our needs and export to the rest of Africa.”