Egyptian President Receives Coronavirus Vaccine

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi receives a dose of a vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Cairo, Egypt, April 25, 2021 in this handout picture courtesy of the Egyptian Presidency. The Egyptian Presidency/Handout via REUTERS

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has received a coronavirus vaccination under a nationwide vaccination drive, his office said on Sunday.

Egypt has started administering doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine under the global COVAX agreement to provide vaccines for lower-income countries, as well as jabs produced by China's Sinopharm.

Awad Tag el-Din, Sisi's adviser for health affairs, told a local news channel on Friday that around half a million people in Egypt had been vaccinated so far.

The number of coronavirus cases has been steadily rising in recent weeks and the health ministry reported 912 new cases and 39 more deaths as of Saturday.