Algeria is set to start producing coronavirus jabs from September, a cabinet minister has announced on state radio.
“In addition to the Russian vaccine Sputnik, we will be producing the Chinese Sinovac as well,” Lotfi Benbahmed told National Radio Algeria.
Chinese technicians would arrive in Algeria by the end of this month to “prepare the arrival of raw materials” and “the production of the vaccines would start in September”, he said.
The state-owned pharmaceutical company Saidal will be producing 2.5 million doses of both vaccines a month, according to the minister.
These locally made vaccines would be 45% cheaper than imports and 90% cheaper once the raw materials were produced in Algeria, Mr Benbahmed said. Per dose it was a saving of at least $5 (£3.60), he added.
Sinovac has also agreed to supply Algeria – which has a population of 45 million – with 15 million imported doses of its vaccines by the end of the year.
