Egypt is emerging as a critical proving ground for global powers seeking to export a coronavirus vaccine to the developing world
By Jared Malsin Close Jared Malsin Oct. 26, 2020 6:21 am ET .
All of the deals are pending approval from Egypt’s regulators. The Health Ministry didn’t respond to requests for comment on the vaccines. A team from the World Health Organization recently conducted an assessment of Egypt’s key vaccine plant on the outskirts of Cairo and concluded the factory would need only minimal modifications to produce coronavirus vaccines, according to Dr. Naeema Al-Gasser, a WHO representative in Egypt.However, Egypt’s hospitals were strained by the coronavirus’s first wave, prompting the country’s doctors’ union to warn that its health-care system was on the brink of collapse.
Egypt is now one of four Middle Eastern countries testing Chinese-made vaccine candidates, along with Bahrain, the U.A.E. and Jordan. In Egypt, the government is promoting the vaccine candidate from China’s state-owned Sinopharm with splashy TV ads to try to convince 6,000 volunteers to participate in a trial. Health Minister Hala Zayed even had herself injected with both doses of the two-step vaccine in September and October to raise awareness about the trial.
Mr. Sisi, who came to power in a deadly military coup in 2013, has made frequent visits to Beijing in recent years and expressed admiration for China’s economic and political example.
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