EGYPT – Egypt’s Health Minister Dr Khaled Abdel Ghaffar has issued a ministerial decision to regulate the process of administrating drugs through intramuscular and subcutaneous injection by qualified pharmacists.

The decision is meant to guarantee rights of pharmacists and ease the injection process for patients.

Abdel Ghaffar made the decision during a meeting with Dr Ashraf Hatem, the head of the health committee of the House of Representatives, chairman of the Egyptian Medical Syndicate (EMS) Dr Hussein Khairy and Dr Abdel Nasser Sengab, member of the Management Committee of the Pharmacists Syndicate.

The minister listened to all proposals submitted during the meeting in order to regulate and legalize intramuscular and subcutaneous injection by qualified pharmacists, said his spokesman Dr Hossam Abdel Ghaffar.

The participants posted the minister on advanced training programs that would help achieve that, spokesman Abdel Ghaffar added.

The programs should be organized for medical teams across Egypt within the few coming days, he noted.

The trainees will then receive certificates and licenses needed for pharmacists to be able to administer drugs through intramuscular and subcutaneous injection, the spokesman said. This should also guarantee the safety of patients, he made it clear.

Qualified pharmacists will, however, give only prescribed intramuscular and subcutaneous injections, the spokesman made it clear.

The minister stressed that the safety of Egyptian patients remains a top priority.

Covid-19 vaccination

Meanwhile, the number of Covid-19 infections in Egypt has been very low recently; however, the WHO has not yet declared the pandemic is over, Presidential Adviser for Health Affairs Mohamed Tag Eddin said.

However, Tag Eddin warned of active respiratory viruses during winter, noting that chest disease hospital nationwide offer treatment and testing services, as well as the flu and Covid-19 vaccines.

He indicated that due to similar clinical manifestations, it is difficult most of the time to tell apart Covid-19 from other viruses, urging all citizens to abide by all precautionary measures.

All the medicines related the coronavirus treatment protocols are available at hospitals, which provide these services to citizens free of charge, Tag Eddin said.

He also urged all parents to ensure that their children between 12-18 years of age get two regular shots of the Covid-19 vaccine to protect them against the virus and avoid dangerous complications in case of catching the virus.

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