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Ashraf AboArafe
CAIRO, 29 January 2022 –The UK has delivered 3,999,360 doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to Egypt as part of its efforts to ensure the most vulnerable are vaccinated. The package donated by the UK was shipped via COVAX, with the support of UNICEF and WHO, and is one of the UK’s largest bilateral donations of vaccines through COVAX. It is part of the 100 million vaccines that the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged the UK would share by June 2022 at the G7 Summit in Cornwall in October.
This package, and the UK’s wider support to COVAX, will help meet the need for vaccines in Egypt as the world continues to battle with Covid-19 and its variants.
Just recently, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has pledged up to £105 million of UK emergency aid to help vulnerable countries tackle the Omicron Covid-19 variant, with a particular focus on Africa.
And since the beginning of this crisis, the UK has been committed to ensuring equitable vaccine distribution among all countries, protecting those most at need. That is why 80% of its donations are through COVAX.
Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Egyptian Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and Acting Minister of Health and Population, thanked the UK for supporting Egypt with this vaccine shipment, within the framework of the strong relations that bind both countries together.
British Ambassador to Egypt Gareth Bayley said: “I am beyond delighted to witness the arrival of approx. four million Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccines, considered one of the largest UK bilateral donation through COVAX, in Egypt. This sets another milestone in our partnership with Egypt to help support the government’s Covid-19 response. Although the last two years of the pandemic have not been easy and have presented their fair share of challenges, the UK is committed to ensuring fair and equitable vaccine access for all and we will continue to support Egypt to bring an end to this pandemic. For our two countries to flourish and grow together, people need to be able to meet together and travel, without fear of Covid. Vaccination is central to this, and is why the UK is further removing any restrictions to entry to our country, for those who are fully vaccinated, from 11 February. Let our partnership grow, from strength to strength.”
Representative of WHO in Egypt and Head of Mission, Dr Naeema Al Gasseer said, “WHO Egypt welcomes the generous contribution of the UK government with 3,999,360 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines to Egypt, which would help accelerate vaccination to everyone living in Egypt including refugees and migrants. We are very proud of our ongoing collaboration with the UK Embassy in Egypt to help support Egypt’s COVID-19 preparedness and response activities. We want 2022 to be the year when we end the pandemic and that cannot be achieved if we do not prioritize vaccine equity, justice and solidarity between countries because as we always say, no one is safe until everyone is safe.”
UNICEF Representative in Egypt, Mr. Jeremy Hopkins said: “I would like to thank the UK government for its generous contribution of around 4 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine through the COVAX facility supported by UNICEF and WHO. Together, we remain committed to provide life-saving vaccines as a key first step to end the COVID-19 pandemic. Scaling up vaccinations will allow people to come together whether at school or as a community, shoulder to shoulder, to get through this pandemic together.” He added: “UNICEF acknowledges the substantial and prompt readiness and action from the Ministry of Health and Population in securing and administering the COVID-19 vaccines to all people living In Egypt which continues to proceed at an impressive rate.”
The arrival of this package follows the UK’s announcement of lifting most travel restrictions to the UK. From 4am on 11 February, the UK will be removing all testing requirements for eligible fully vaccinated arrivals, where travellers will not be required to self-isolate on arrival, making the UK one of the most open countries in Europe. And travellers, who are not recognised as fully vaccinated, will only need to take a pre-departure test and a PCR test on or before day 2 after they arrive in the UK.
