U.S. Ambassador Jonathan R. Cohen welcomed the arrival of a second shipment of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccines to Cairo. The shipment of an additional 1.6 million Pfizer doses is part of a 500-million-dose donation from the United States to the countries of the African Union through COVAX, and will help protect Egyptians from COVID-19 and prevent the spread of the virus’s dangerous new strains.
At the arrival ceremony, also attended by Pfizer, WHO, and UNICEF partners, Ambassador Cohen noted, “I am so pleased to celebrate the arrival of this vaccine shipment, the second direct donation of 1.6 million doses of Pfizer from the people of the United States to the people of Egypt. This is part of more than 8 million Pfizer vaccine doses the United States is sending to Egypt. Today’s vaccine donation underscores our continuing commitment to support Egypt through this global health crisis.”
Dr. Naeema Al Gasseer, WHO representative in Egypt stated, “the arrival of the second shipment of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccines to Egypt from United States is yet another act of solidarity and cooperation towards reaching the goal of 40% vaccination coverage and helping vaccinate the most at – risk population especially the front-line health workers. WHO is extremely thankful to United States’ generosity that will contribute to tackling vaccine inequity.”
“Reliable cold chain is essential to keeping vaccines effective. The procurement and delivery of Pfizer vaccines, prompted many countries including Egypt to upgrade their cold chain equipment to keep up with the new technology requiring ultra-cold conditions. So far, we have successfully delivered and installed 20 ultra-low temperature freezers in 6 governorates across the country. At UNICEF, we are pleased to be supporting Egypt in this upgrade and we would like to extend our thanks to the COVAX donors who make this possible, so that more vaccines can be delivered while preserving their potency to protect the people in Egypt and to keep them safe from COVID-19”, said UNICEF Representative in Egypt, Jeremy Hopkins.
U.S. cooperation with Egypt in fighting the pandemic is wide-ranging. At the outset of the pandemic, Egypt sent medical supplies to the United States. The U.S. government, through USAID, has provided more than $55 million to support Egypt’s Coronavirus response, already reaching nearly 18 million people with needed health and economic support. USAID programs train health care workers, improve tracking of and response to the pandemic, provide food assistance to families affected by the pandemic, and support small businesses. Just this week, the U.S. Government announced an additional $5 million in assistance to Egypt to support health workers administering vaccines and strengthen the supply chain for vaccines. This support builds on more than $1 billion in the United States has invested over the past 40 years to improve the health of all Egyptians.
These Pfizer doses will be swiftly dispatched to Ministry of Health and Population facilities in Cairo, Port Said, Daqahlya, Behaira, Luxor, and Assiut, and stored in UNICEF-funded ultra-cold storage equipment used exclusively for the Pfizer vaccine.
The U.S.-Egypt partnership is saving lives and helping Egypt move towards economic recovery. As President Biden said, “From the beginning of my presidency, we have been clear-eyed that we need to attack this virus globally as well. This is about our responsibility—our humanitarian obligation to save as many lives as we can—and our responsibility to our values. We’re going to help lead the world out of this pandemic, working alongside our global partners.” Worldwide, the United States has delivered more than 180 million COVID-19 vaccines and hundreds of millions more are on their way.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of U.S. Embassy – Cairo, Egypt.
