Vaccines are now being administered at 138 medical units across the country as the Health Ministry looks to expand and speed up the rollout of covid-19 jabs, with an eye to inoculate as many as 250k individuals this week alone, Minister Hala Zayed said in a statement yesterday. The ministry set up an additional 90 centers to administer the vaccines to eligible citizens, foreign residents, diplomats, and refugees, after initially setting up 40 sites, Masaa DMC’s Ramy Radwan noted (watch, runtime: 1:36).

The capital city has the biggest share of the pie, with 33 sites available across Cairo, followed by another 24 units in Giza and 19 in Alexandria, Zayed said.

Anyone living in Egypt who is 18 or older is now eligible and can register for the jab through the ministry’s website. As of Monday morning, a total of 30k individuals had received a jab.

The Health Ministry reported 648 new covid-19 infections yesterday, up from 643 the day before. The ministry also reported 43 new deaths, bringing the country’s total death toll to 11,680. Egypt has now disclosed a total of 196,709 confirmed cases of covid-19.

AstraZeneca will release more up-to-date data from its US vaccine trial within the next two days after the independent monitoring board said the drugmaker’s analysis of the jab’s efficacy relied in part on old data, Reuters reported. AstraZeneca’s results on Monday said the shot has a 79% efficacy rate.

An anti-covid-19 pill is now in clinical testing in the US after Pfizer confirmed that the experimental antiviral med is a protease inhibitor that prevents the virus from replicating in cells.

A single-dose version of Russia’s Sputnik V is also in clinical trials in the UAE, Ghana and Russia. While it is less effective than the original two-shot jab, the one-and-done version could serve as a stopgap solution for countries facing a high covid-19 case count, Reuters reports, citing a Russian Direct Investment Fund official.

Vaccine nay-sayers in Canada are being lured to change their minds, with Manulife Financial rewarding clients who get jabs by handing out points that can be redeemed for Amazon gift cards, hotel discounts, and cheaper gym memberships. This comes after US donut chain Krispy Kreme said it would give anybody with a proof of vaccination a donut a day (without charge) for the rest of the year.