Increased Demand for COVID-19 Vaccines in Egypt

Increased Demand for COVID-19 Vaccines in Egypt

Elderly people, wearing protective face masks amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, wait to receive a shot of a COVID-19 vaccine at a health center, in Qatameya, Cairo, Egypt March 22, 2021. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

The Egyptian government announced Thursday an increasing demand for COVID-19 vaccines as the country aims to inoculate 40% of its population against the coronavirus by the end of 2021.

The Health Ministry said 765 new cases were recorded in the country, upping the total number of infections since the outbreak began in Egypt to 270,292.

In a statement, spokesman Khaled Megahed said 34 patients have died from the virus over the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to 15,471.

He added that 800 patients were discharged from isolation hospitals after receiving necessary medical care, taking the number of recovered cases to 198,632.

According to a study carried out by the Egyptian Cabinet's Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC), the number of people registered last month to be vaccinated has increased by 10 percent.

Egypt had announced earlier this year the start of online registration for eligible citizens to obtain the vaccine, starting first with people having health conditions.

On Thursday, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health and Population for Preventive Medicine