CAIRO: Egypt has received its first batch of 15,000 doses of EvuSheld, a long-acting antibody combination for the prevention of COVID-19 in vulnerable patients.
The delivery came just days after the AstraZeneca drug obtained an emergency use permit from the Egyptian Drug Authority, making Egypt the first African country and fourth in the world to take EvuSheld.
Authorities said more doses were expected to arrive over the coming weeks as part of a supply agreement for 50,000 measures in 2022.
On Jan. 16, the EDA granted EvuSheld an emergency use permit for adults and over-12s weighing more than 40 kilograms. The drug — a combination of the human monoclonal antibodies tixagevimab and cilgavimab — targets groups that suffer from moderate to severe weakness in immunity as a result of health conditions or taking immunosuppressive drugs.
Hossam Abdel Ghaffar, spokesman for the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population, said: “The leadership’s directives were the main driver that made Egypt one of the first countries in the world to receive doses of the innovative drug EvuSheld to protect the most vulnerable groups.
“The cooperation of the Ministry of Health and Population with AstraZeneca will play a pivotal role in our pandemic response efforts.”
Hatem Wardani, chief executive officer of AstraZeneca in Egypt, said: “We are pleased to see the arrival of the first batch of doses of EvuSheld in Egypt shortly after receiving an emergency use license from the Egyptian Drug Authority.
“In this regard, we affirm AstraZeneca’s commitment to support the efforts made by the Ministry of Health and Population to address the COVID-19 pandemic by providing innovative medical treatments and solutions to the Egyptian people.”
Around 2 percent of the world’s population faces increased risks posed by the body’s inability to generate an adequate immune response to COVID-19 vaccination.
