The Health Ministry reported 861 new covid-19 infections yesterday, up from 857 the day before. Egypt has now disclosed a total of 314,997 confirmed cases of covid-19. The ministry also reported 41 new deaths, bringing the country’s total death toll to 17,806.

Sinovac is supplying state-owned vaccine maker Vacsera with raw materials for 250 mn covid jabs in 2023, Health Minister Hala Zayed said in yesterday’s cabinet meeting, according to a statement. The agreement will also see the dispatch of technical teams from both companies to the other’s factories for training purposes. Under the two firms’ existing agreement, Vacsera’s daily capacity stood at around 300k Sinovac shots per day in September, giving it a monthly production capacity of some 9 mn doses by our math. The company eventually expects to raise capacity to produce 15-18.5 mn doses each month after the opening of its new facility in Sixth of October in November.

New Africa + Middle East export hub? The ministry is also considering offering Sinovac a building in Vacsera’s new plant to produce vaccines for export across Africa and the Middle East. The factory aims to position Egypt as a vaccine-making hub for export to the rest of Africa, the Health Ministry has said previously.

A plan is being drawn up to establish vaccination clinics in all government hospitals, Zayed said, bringing the total number of centers to 2k clinics, up from 850 at last count. The plan aims to make vaccination mandatory for entry to all state-run hospitals and buildings affiliated with the Health Ministry, she added.