Egypt announced plans to produce 1 billion Sinovac vaccines per year

Egypt has said it intends to produce more than a billion doses of China’s Sinovac vaccine each year in order to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

Health Minister Hala Zayed told reporters that under a deal with the Chinese firm, a factory in the capital, Cairo, would make more than 200 million doses a year for the local needs.

According to the minister, another factory will produce five times as many. Those will be for exportation, mainly to African countries.

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The country has recorded 289,000 cases to date, including 16,743 deaths.