Yet another record daily tally: The Health Ministry reported 2,223 new covid-19 infections yesterday, up from 2,210 the day before — a sixth consecutive record high as the omicron wave continues. Egypt has now disclosed a total of 425,911 confirmed cases of covid-19. The ministry also reported 31 new deaths, bringing the country’s total death toll to 22,635.

Remember: Cases aren’t expected to peak until at least the middle of this month, according to the head of Vacsera’s allergy center.

The vaccine tally: 26,138,418 people are now fully vaccinated against the virus, while some 11.3 mn people have received only their first shots and 620,004 people have received booster shots.

The government is aiming to have vaccinated 70% of the population by the start of 2H2022, Youm7 quoted health ministry spokesperson Hossam Abdel Ghaffar as saying. The country has so far inoculated 42% of people in targeted groups, he added. Around 60 mn people are eligible for vaccination.

We’ve received our first batch of Evusheld doses: 15k doses of AstraZeneca’s preventative antibody cocktail for the immunocompromised, Evusheld, arrived at Cairo International Airport on Saturday, the company announced in a press release (pdf). This makes Egypt the first country in Africa and the fourth worldwide to receive the med, according to the release. A total of 50k doses are expected to arrive this year, with more deliveries set to come in the next few weeks.

Where’s our Paxlovid? We were also expecting a shipment of Pfizer’s covid pill, Paxlovid, sometime in January, after we signed an agreement with the pharma giant to provide pills to treat some 20k people, but there’s been no word on those yet. Meanwhile, Merck’s Molnupiravir antiviral covid treatment was approved for emergency use in hospitals last week, paving the way for five local firms to begin supplying local hospitals with the medication.