Egypt will get its hands on the 8.6 mn doses of the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine from the WHO’s Gavi/Covax initiative within the next few weeks, presidential health advisor Mohamed Awad Tag Eldin said, according to the local press. The shipment appears to be delayed, after originally being scheduled to arrive last week, Health Minister Hala Zayed previously said. We are set to receive 40 mn doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine this year, according to Zayed.

Egypt has so far received a total of 400k vaccine doses, including 350k from China’s Sinopharm vaccine and the remainder from AstraZeneca. We’re also expecting another 300k doses of the Sinopharm jab in the near future, which China is sending over as a gift, China’s ambassador to Egypt said last week.

Other vaccines now in the pipeline for emergency use in Egypt include Russia’s Sputnik V and the Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot jab, Tag Eldin said.

The Health Ministry reported 581 new covid-19 infections yesterday, down from 588 the day before. The ministry also reported 41 new deaths, bringing the country’s total death toll to 10,995. Egypt has now disclosed a total of 186,503 confirmed cases of covid-19.

Israel is lifting most of its lockdown measures just in time for its upcoming parliamentary elections. With around 40% of the Israeli population now inoculated against covid-19, the government reopened much of the economy yesterday including diners, attractions, and hotels, and is due to hold the elections in a little under three weeks, the Associated Press reports.