Photo taken on Dec. 22, 2020 shows Russia's Sputnik V vaccine at a plant in the Karaganda Region, Kazakhstan. (Photo by Kalizhan Ospanov/Xinhua)
-- Egypt approves Russia's Sputnik V vaccine
-- Turkey vaccinates teachers ahead of reopening schools
-- 112 more in Iran infected with new strain of COVID-19
-- Iraq adds 4,306 new COVID-19 cases, highest daily record in 2021
CAIRO, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Egyptian Drug Authority (EDA) approved Wednesday Russia's Sputnik V vaccine for emergency use. Meanwhile, Turkey started Wednesday the vaccination of teachers against COVID-19 as the country is poised to resume in-person education.
In a statement, Mahmoud Yassin, head of EDA's Central Administration for Biological and Innovative Products, said that Russia's Sputnik V was approved after passing assessment tests at the authority's labs.
It has previously approved China's Sinopharm vaccine and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
The EDA official said that the authority is currently working on testing the efficiency and safety of more vaccines.
Last month, Egypt began a nationwide campaign of COVID-19 vaccination, starting with medical staff of government hospitals.
Egyptian Health Minister Hala Zayed told a local TV channel on Tuesday that the vaccination will cost a citizen 200 Egyptian pounds (about 12.8 U.S. dollars) for a two-dose regimen of 21-day duration.
Zayed added that needy families and individuals will be "exempt from any vaccination expenses."
Starting Feb. 28, the minister said, a designated website will be opened for registration with priority to be given to the patients suffering chronic diseases and people above 40.
A batch of Sinopharm vaccines provide by China for Egypt and the General Secretariat of Arab League arrived in Cairo early Tuesday.
A woman receives the COVID-19 vaccine in Ankara, Turkey, on Feb. 22, 2021. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)
Turkey has started Wednesday the vaccination of teachers against COVID-19 as the country is poised to resume in-person education.
Turkish Education Minister Ziya Selcuk received his first dose in a ceremony held in the Central Anatolia province of Corum.
A list including 1.25 million teachers, who will be on duty for resumed classes, was submitted to the health ministry for vaccination, Selcuk said.
Turkey gradually starts face-to-face schooling, as primary schools in villages opened on Feb. 15 and the rest of the primary classes, along with students in eighth and 12th grades, will resume on March 1.
Turkey on Wednesday confirmed 9,561 new COVID-19 cases, including 660 symptomatic patients, taking the total number of positive cases in the country to 2,665,194.
The death toll from the virus in Turkey rose by 72 to 28,285, while the total recoveries climbed to 2,540,293 after 5,297 more cases recovered in the last 24 hours, according to the Turkish health ministry.
A total of 124,015 tests were conducted over the past day, raising the overall number of tests in Turkey to 32,684,747.
Turkey started mass COVID-19 vaccination on Jan. 14 after the authorities approved the emergency use of the Chinese CoronaVac vaccine. More than 6,463,000 people have been vaccinated so far.
Photo shows people wearing face masks in Tehran, capital of Iran, Feb. 2, 2021. (Photo by Ahmad Halabisaz/Xinhua)
Iranian health authorities said on Wednesday that 112 people infected with the mutant variant of coronavirus have been identified in the country.
"So far, eight people in the country have died from the mutant virus," said Alireza Raisi, spokesman for the Iranian national headquarters fighting COVID-19.
The symptoms of the new variant are the same as the common novel coronavirus, but its contagiousness and pathogenicity are higher, he said.
Raisi warned against the possibility of the spread of the mutant variant in the country, urging people to follow the health protocols carefully.
Iran's health ministry reported 8,270 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, raising the total nationwide infections to 1,598,875.
The pandemic has so far claimed 59,736 lives in Iran, up by 73 in the past 24 hours. Of the newly infected, 746 were hospitalized, said Lari.
Morocco's COVID-19 tally rose to 482,128 on Wednesday as 419 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours.
According to a statement by the Ministry of Health, the death toll hit 8,592 as 18 COVID-19 patients died in the last 24 hours.
A woman receives a dose of COVID-19 vaccine in Tinghir, Morocco, Feb. 19, 2021. (Photo by Chadi/Xinhua)
The total number of recoveries from COVID-19 in Morocco increased to 466,815 after 710 new ones were added, while 437 people are in intensive care units, the statement said.
Meanwhile, 2,911,635 people have been vaccinated so far against COVID-19 in the country.
The North African country launched a nationwide vaccination campaign on Jan. 28 after the arrival of the first shipment of China's Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine.
Lebanon recorded on Wednesday 3,513 new COVID-19 cases, raising the number of infections to 362,833, the Health Ministry reported.
Meanwhile, death toll from the virus went up by 62 to 4,508.
Jacques Mokhbat, member of the national committee for the administration of the COVID-19 vaccine, said on Wednesday that only 29,000 people in Lebanon have been vaccinated so far.
"If the process remains that slow, we will not be able to reach herd immunity before 2027," he said.
On Feb. 14, Lebanon started its vaccination campaign with employees in the health sector and the elderly above 75 years old.
Kuwait reported on Wednesday 1,001 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 187,005.
People queue up to register to receive the COVID-19 vaccine at the Vaccination Center in Hawalli Governorate, Kuwait, Feb. 4, 2021. (Photo by Asad/Xinhua)
The Kuwaiti Health Ministry also announced five more deaths, taking the death toll to 1,062. The tally of recoveries in Kuwait rose by 960 to 175,048, while 10,895 coronavirus-related patients were receiving treatment.
Abdullah Al-Bader, assistant undersecretary for medical affairs in the ministry, said on Wednesday that a new batch of coronavirus vaccines will arrive on Feb. 28.
Kuwait is keen on battling the coronavirus spread by reinforcing its national vaccination campaign, Al-Bader said.
Healthcare workers are seen at a market during a campaign to detect coronavirus infections in Baghdad, Iraq, Jan. 31, 2021. (Xinhua)
The Iraqi Ministry of Health reported on Wednesday 4,306 new COVID-19 cases, the highest daily record in 2021, raising the total nationwide number to 680,288.
It also reported 13 new deaths, raising the death toll from the infectious virus to 13,324, while the total recoveries in Iraq climbed by 2,110 to 625,447.
Minister of Health Hassan al-Tamimi said at a press conference marking the first anniversary of detecting the first case of COVID-19 in Iraq that the ministry has "finished all preparations to receive the vaccines that will arrive soon." ■
