National Research Centre, the premium scientific research and development body of Egypt, said on Sunday that it will start clinical trials of the country’s first indigenously developed coronavirus vaccine — COVI VAX — immediately. The vaccine, which is based on proteins from the original virus to provoke an immune response, was one of the Covid vaccine candidates that the World Health Organisation had included in the list of new vaccines under development from across the world. Egypt’s Acting Health Minister  Khaled Abdel Ghaffar said: ”It’s a very important strategic situation that there is an Egyptian vaccine that we (the country) can rely on in the coming period.” 

Egypt, which has covered only 14% of its population with full vaccination, has been fully dependent on imported vaccines. The trial for the indegenous vaccine will start with tens, then hundreds, and will eventually include thousands of people, the minister said.