Algeria to start Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine production Wednesday

Reuters
·1 min read
FILE PHOTO: Test tubes are seen in front of a displayed Sinovac logo in this illustration taken

ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algeria will start production of COVID-19 vaccine Sinovac in partnership with China on Wednesday with the aim of meeting domestic demand and exporting the surplus, the prime minister's office said on Tuesday.

The government has said production capacity will stand at 1 million, 2 million and 3 million doses in October, November and December respectively, before reaching 5 million doses per month from January.

The North African country has been importing vaccines, mainly Sinovac, since the coronavirus pandemic began in March 2020.

The government aims to vaccinate 70% of Algeria's 45 million people.

The Sinovac vaccine will be produced in the eastern city of Constantine in partnership with state pharmaceutical products company Saidal.

Algeria also plans to begin production of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine by the end of this year.

(Reporting by Hamid Ould Ahmed; editing by Grant McCool)