Egypt is preparing to open the VACSERA factory compound in the 6th of October City, aiming to produce different types of vaccines , including the seasonal influenza vaccine, pneumococcal vaccine and polio vaccine, in cooperation with major international companies in the field .

At a time when the country is experiencing a slight rise in cases and vaccination rates remain low.

Meanwhile, Egypt has witnessed a slow rate of vaccinations. About 10.4 million doses have been administered so far, enough to inoculate just over 5% of the country’s 100 million plus population.

last July, Egypt began to manufacture the first batch of serum — 1 million doses — at the factory of  VACSERA Holding Company for Biological Products and Vaccines, in the Agouza neighborhood of Cairo, under the name “VACSERA-Sinovac made in Egypt.

“On Aug. 30, Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly visited the factory compound to follow up the preparations for the start of the vaccine production in the coming period.

He was accompanied by Minister of Health and Population Hala Zayed, Giza Governor, Ahmed Rashid and a number of leaders and officials of the Ministry of Health and the VACSERA factory compound.

During the visit, Zayed declared that a coronavirus vaccine factory has been established on an area of about 6,000 square meters (1.5 acres) to produce vaccines within the VACSERA factory compound, which extends over a total area of 60,000 square meters (15 acres). The vaccine factory is expected to start operating later this year.

The minister added that the production capacity of the factory will be 24,000 packages per hour. She said it is expected to be the largest vaccine production factory in the Middle East and Africa and a regional center for manufacturing and exporting vaccines to African countries, thus localizing the vaccine industry on the African continent.

Asked about the vision of the VACSERA factory compound in the 6th of October City, Zayed said that it aims at producing  different types of vaccines in cooperation with major international companies in this field.

On Aug. 23, the VACSERA-Sinovac vaccine obtained an emergency use license from Egypt’s Drug Authority, as it meets the global rules and references followed by the World Health Organization (WHO) to assess the safety, quality and effectiveness of vaccines and to confirm the sustainability of their availability.

Amjad al-Haddad, head of the Allergy and Immunology Department at the Serum and Vaccine Authority, said  that the main goal behind the local manufacture of the vaccine is to achieve what can be called Egyptian pharmaceutical security in the face of the covid-19, which is still spreading through mutations.

Khaled Mujahid, assistant minister of health and population for media and awareness, and the official spokesman for the ministry, mentioned that according to the latest data for Egypt until Sept. 5, the total number of COVID-19 cases was 290,027, including 241,964 cases that have been cured and 16,789 deaths.

However, he indicated that studies and researches confirm that this virus requires periodic vaccinations, thus proving the government need to secure a strategic stockpile of vaccines to cover the needs of Egyptian citizens.

Haddad added that this step undoubtedly exemplifies the Egyptian government keenness to keep the health of Egyptians by meeting local needs and exporting the surplus.

He assured that accelerating the rate of vaccinations in Egypt will protect the country against any regression waves as far the virus is concerned, which is the goal that the international community is striving to achieve, especially considering that the virus is mutating.

, he added also that it is also a guarantee that no new variants of the virus will appear if the entire population is vaccinated.

Heba Wali,The chairwoman of the Board of Directors of the Holding Company for Biological Products and Vaccines (VACSERA), said  that the vaccine factory includes laboratories to monitor the production quality, with eight central laboratories equipped with the latest equipment to measure the stability and test the safety of the final product and the manufacturing inputs according to the standards recommended by the WHO.

She added, the factory also includes refrigerators for preserving the vaccine in its different stages, starting from the raw materials to the final product, and the storage capacity in these cooling units reaches 150 million doses.

These refrigerators are designed in accordance with the international standards for preserving vaccines, as well as an electronic monitor to ensure safe storage.

Wali said that the two VACSERA factories were equipped and rehabilitated at a cost of 785 million Egyptian pounds ($50 million).

She added that the VACSERA factory in Agouza produces 300,000 doses of vaccine in one work cycle, which is roughly 60 days. The VACSERA factory’s annual production capacity is expected to reach 110 million to 220 million doses.

She concluded, this factory is scheduled to produce about 80 million doses in the next six months in cooperation with the Chinese Sinovac.