The Health Ministry’s covid passport app is now live: The app acts as proof of covid vaccination, and is designed to replace the paper certificates in efforts to avoid fraud. The application is straightforward: All you have to do is enter your national ID or passport number and vaccine registration number — sent in a text message by the Health Ministry upon your vaccine registration — upload a profile picture, and pay the EGP 100 fee (for Egyptians) or EGP 400 (for foreigners). Download the app: Google Play | Apple App Store.

How it worked for us: For two of us using iPhones, it worked a charm — the whole process took about five minutes, two of them spent looking for our hand-written vaccination cards. One of us on Android was unable to retrieve their personal information during the registration process. Reviews on the App and Play stores are so far mixed — split between one-star reviews complaining of technical glitches and five star reviews from people who had an easy time (like most of us) getting it up and running. We suggest you try for yourself.

You don’t need a QR-coded vaccination record to make this work: The app recognized our hand-written record — and displays your QR code when you tap a button.

Reminder: From 1 December, you’re going to need either this app or a paper certificate proving you’ve been vaccinated in order to enter government buildings.

The app received widespread coverage on the talk shows last night: Masaa DMC (watch, runtime: 2:02) Yahduth Fi Masr (watch, runtime: 3:04) and Ala Mas’ouleety (watch, runtime: 13:35)

Children between 15 and 18 can now register on the Health Ministry’s website to get their Pfizer jabs, according to Masaa DMC’s Ramy Radwan (watch, runtime: 3:34). The ministry earlier this week announced that the vaccine would be handed out to 15-18 year-olds, and jabs in schools started yesterday. The news comes as the US Center for Disease Control officially recommended that 5-11-year-olds receive Pfizer’s pediatric covid jab

The Health Ministry reported 951 new covid-19 infections yesterday, up from 921 the day before. Egypt has now disclosed a total of 333,840 confirmed cases of covid-19. The ministry also reported 63 new deaths, bringing the country’s total death toll to 18,832.

IN GLOBAL COVID NEWS-

There’s a new WHO-backed vaccine on the block: The World Health Organization (WHO) just approved India’s homegrown covid-19 vaccine, Covaxin, for emergency use on people aged 18 and older. The vaccine, which was co-developed by local manufacturer Bharat Biotech International Ltd. and the state-funded Indian Council of Medical Research, will be administered in two doses, with four weeks between the shots. The Indian jab had been shrouded in controversy since it was first introduced to the public, with WHO claiming that it has waited for months for information from the company in order to authorize the inoculation’s use, saying it would not “cut corners” to greenlight it.