Egypt receives second shipment of vaccine from China

Egypt's health minister on Monday praised the Chinese coronavirus vaccine Sinopharm, after the Arab country received a 300,000-dose shipment of the shot as a donation from China.

"Scientifically, it is considered one of the strongest vaccines," Hala Zayed said.

Egypt is among dozens of nations depending on China to help rescue them from the COVID-19 pandemic, part of Beijing's vaccine diplomacy campaign that has been a surprising success.

Zayed told reporters Egypt was working with the Chinese government to become a manufacturer of the vaccine to meet supply and home and in other African countries.

Egypt had previously received 350,000 doses of the Sinopharm jab as well as a shipment of 50,000 doses of the AstraZeneca shot.

President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi said last month his country needs at least 70 million doses of coronavirus vaccines to inoculate 30-35 million people.

Egypt, the Arab world's most populous country with over 100 million people, has reported more than 195,418 confirmed cases of coronavirus, including 11,598 deaths, according to a widely used tally by Johns Hopkins University.

The actual number of COVID-19 cases, like elsewhere in the world, is thought to be far higher, in part due to limited testing.