Egypt approves Russia's Sputnik V vaccine for inoculation

The Egyptian Drug Authority announced on Wednesday that it has approved Russian Sputnik V, a month after the start of the vaccination campaign.

According to a statement posted on its Facebook page, the Drug Authority said it had "given urgent approval for the use of both vaccines: Sputnik V and AstraZeneca imported from South Korea".

In the post, it said the number of vaccines that have not been given the greenlight for use stands at 4, after the Egyptian Drug Authority issued emergency licensing for sinovam, and Covishield/Astrazeneca vaccines.

South Korea had previously approved China’s Sinopharm vaccine and AstraZeneca from the Anglo-Swedish group which was produced in India, a shipment of which was received in late January.

Egypt, a nation of over 100 million, began vaccinating its medical staff against coronavirus with Sinopharm vaccine on January 24.

The campaign is expected to continue with elderly people, followed by those with chronic diseases before the rest of the population.

The Russian Sovereign Fund (RDIF) has confirmed Egypt's approval of its vaccine, saying Sputnik V "is now approved in 35 countries around the world".

The North African nation has officially recorded more than 179,000 cases of Covid-19 since the pandemic. There over 10,400 deaths. This infection rate is far below the actual number of infections, according to health officials.