Why Egypt chose Chinese COVID-19 vaccine over Russian one
As Egypt and China are set to sign an agreement for the distribution of a Chinese coronavirus vaccine, questions arise as to the efficiency of this vaccine.
CAIRO — The Egyptian government is expected to sign an agreement with its Chinese counterpart later this month for the distribution within four months of a Chinese coronavirus vaccine that is now in its final development stages.
Egypt has ignored Russian calls for a partnership to produce another coronavirus vaccine. On Aug. 11, Russia became the first country in the world to announce the approval of a COVID-19 vaccine.
The Egyptian Ministry of Health announced in an official statement Sept. 12 that it would start participating in clinical trials for the third development phase of two vaccines produced by “a Chinese company that provides basic vaccinations for polio and is one of the leading companies in the field,” with trials conducted on about 15,000 people. The trials of the final phase aim to ensure the efficacy of the vaccines, the ministry said.
Meanwhile, the Egyptian Ministry of Health did not respond to an official Russian offer to establish a partnership with Egypt for producing the newly developed Russian coronavirus vaccine, dubbed Sputnik-V.
