Will factory employees receive jabs, courtesy of the FEI? The Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI) has signed an agreement with the Health Ministry that would see it cooperate on vaccinating factory workers, the FEI said in a statement picked up by Youm7. Under a program organized by the FEI and the ministry, the FEI will set up vaccine centers in cities with industrial hubs and factories around the country will be able to register all its employees to receive a jab through the scheme, FEI board member Mahmoud Sarg told Enterprise after confirming an agreement had indeed been signed. The Health Ministry has not officially confirmed the agreement as of dispatch time.

EXCLUSIVE- A meeting will be held next Sunday to decide whether vaccinations will be mandatory for factory workers and to settle on dates for the rollout, manager of the Federation of Investors Associations Hossam El Shahawi told Enterprise. He added that the Tahya Misr fund is now accepting donations to allow the jabs to be given to workers without cost and that so far EGP 300k has been donated.

Meanwhile, Some Egyptian sporting clubs say they will make vaccinations available to members at their premises. In all cases prior registration through the Health Ministry’s website is mandatory to obtain a registration number that will be presented while getting the doses. It is not yet clear when these clubs will be supplied with jabs from the ministry.

• The Shooting Club will allow members to register to obtain the vaccine through the club, with face-to-face registration to be open “after Eid” at the club’s sites. The type of vaccine offered will be based on the availability from the ministry, the club said.
• Heliopolis Sporting Club has also offered a similar service to its members through its online portal, with over 16k members currently registered to receive the vaccine.
• While Gezira Sporting Club has not made an announcement on its public channels, Chairman Amr Gazarin said in a private Facebook group that members have until 6pm today to register in person for the vaccination at the club’s social building in the Zamalek premises, with rollouts set to begin starting 19 May.
• In Alexandria, Sporting Club and Smouha SC have also opened forms for members to obtain a jab from the clubs.

Cue the universities: AUC is offering jabs for current students, staff, and faculty in cooperation with the Health Ministry. The doses are being given in a mass vaccination facility at Al Manara Convention Center starting today and will continue until Sunday. Jabs could be offered to families of AUC staff on a first-come, first-served basis if there is additional, unused capacity. Stay tuned on updates through emails from the VP office. AUC isn’t the only one, with Assiut University and BUE offering to jab up its students.

SMART POLICY- The move appears to be part of a wider campaign to expand vaccine distribution by opening new channels outside the ministry’s direct control. Egypt is among those countries that have vaccinated less than 5% of their citizens compared to 20-30% in Greece, Italy, and Spain. Analysts speaking to Reuters have noted that this remains a leading risk to tourism recovery.