Egypt Receives 261,600 Doses of Johnson & Johnson Vaccine

Egypt’s Ministry of Health and Population announced it received the first shipments (261,600 doses) of the American Johnson & Johnson vaccine at Cairo International Airport on the morning of Monday, 9 August.

Khaled Megahed, official spokesperson for the Ministry, noted that the shipment received today will be distributed to centers designated for vaccinating travelers, which equals to 126 centers nationwide. The centers are equipped to issue vaccination certificates starting this week.

He added that the shipment will be tested at the Egyptian Drug Authority (EDA).

The spokesperson appealed to citizens to register on the Ministry’s website (http://www.egcovac.mohp.gov.eg/) to receive coronavirus vaccines, adding that the Egyptian state is committed to providing vaccines to citizens for free.

This shipment comes in cooperation with the African Union (AU). Egypt and Ghana are one of the first to receive the doses as part of the supply deal agreed in March to procure 220 million doses for the continent, with the potential to order another 180 million.

The African Union aims to distribute 6.4 million shots in August, the bloc’s African Vaccine Acquisition Trust said in a statement.

By the end of 2021, 80 million doses are expected to be locally produced to vaccinate 40 million Egyptians, the Ministry of Health said in a statement.

To facilitate travel procedures for Egyptians and foreigners, Egypt’s Ministry of Health and Population announced last month that the issuing of vaccine certificates with QR codes had commenced, and that 126 centers across the country have started issuing certificates for people who need documentation of their vaccinations.

The Ministry is also currently working on Android and IOS versions of the “Egypt Health Passport” application, which is similar to an electronic ‘health passport’ to provide the certificate of vaccination for the user.