We’re getting 1.7 mn doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine today as part of the Covax program, Health Ministry spokesperson Khaled Megahed told eXtra News. Minister Hala Zayed had said last week that this shipment will be followed by a separate batch of 1.7 mn doses of the jab coming before the month is out.

Also coming before the end of May: Our first shipment of the Sputnik V jab. Russia is expected to send an unspecified number of vaccine doses in the first batch we’re receiving under an agreement that will see Russia supplying Egypt with 10 mn doses of the vaccine, Megahed noted (watch, runtime: 8:47)

The Health Ministry reported 1,138 new covid-19 infections yesterday, up from 1,132 the day before. The ministry also reported 59 new deaths, bringing the country’s total death toll to 13,904. Egypt has now disclosed a total of 237,410 confirmed cases of covid-19.

Egypt sent three military planes carrying medical aid to India yesterday to assist the country in combating its covid-19 outbreak, according to an Armed Forces statement.

As developing countries grapple with a vaccine supply crunch, there are some — many of them in Africa — that have no vaccines at all: Chad has not received a single dose under the Gavi / Covax scheme designed to ensure equal access to vaccines and is last in line on the continent to get its hands on the coming UN-backed rollout, the Associated Press reports. Burkina Faso, Burundi, Eritrea and Tanzania are next in line for covid shots among at least a dozen other African countries also lagging far behind the rest of the world in vaccinations, accounting for just 1% of shots administered worldwide.

Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to be produced in China: Shanghai Fosun Pharma Group has agreed to set up a 50-50 joint venture with BioNTech that will enable it to produce the German company’s mRNA covid-19 vaccine in Shanghai, according to a statement (pdf). Fosun will target production of 1 bn doses each year.

Vaccines are getting the job done in the UK, where covid-19 related deaths fell to just two individuals yesterday, after the country successfully vaccinated a third of its population, Bloomberg reports.