Sisi Calls for Boosting Africa’s Capacity to Produce Vaccines

Arab World

August 29th, 7:55am

Cairo - Asharq Al-Awsat

A worker prepares doses of the Sinovac vaccine that are being manufactured by Vacsera. (Reuters)

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi stressed that international cooperation in producing and distributing COVID-19 vaccines is essential for the rebound of the African and world economy. Speaking at the fourth edition of the G20 Compact for Africa Summit via videoconference, Sisi said the available vaccines for African countries are far less than their needs. He called on the international community to boost vaccine production in Africa, noting the gap between developed countries that managed to secure vaccines for the majority of their populations and African countries that are still facing challenges in accessing the shots. Egypt’s Ministry of Health and Population on Friday reported 234 new coronavirus cases, raising the total to 287,393. Head of the Central Administration for Preventive Affairs at the ministry, Mohamed Abdel Fattah said last week witnessed a slight increase in infections, which he attributed to an increase in testing. He assured Friday that the available vaccines are effective against the delta variant of the coronavirus.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3158796/sisi-calls-boosting-africa%E2%80%99s-capacity-produce-vaccines