Cairo – Mubasher: The Egyptian Minister of Health, Hala Zayed, announced that the first shipment of the AstraZeneca coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine is expected to arrive by the end of March.

The first shipment will include 5 million doses of the vaccine, while the second shipment, expected to arrive in May, will include another 3 million doses, Zayed said in a statement on Wednesday.

The country has received a new shipment of 350,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine from China.

Concerning doubts about risks associated with the AstraZeneca vaccine, the minister affirmed that there is no evidence of a link between the vaccine and a few cases of blood clots, noting that only a few countries suspended the use of the jab as a precautionary measure.

Late on Tuesday, the Ministry of Health reported 640 new COVID-19 cases and 44 new deaths, bringing the country’s total confirmed cases to 192,195 and death toll to 11,384.