CAIRO, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Egypt received on Sunday the first batch of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, one day after the most populous Arab country approved the British vaccine for emergency use, official Ahram Online news website reported.

File photo: AFP

The batch, which consists of 50,000 doses, is part of an agreement that includes 20 million doses of the British vaccine.

This is the second COVID-19 vaccine approved for emergency use in Egypt following the authorization of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine earlier this month.

Spokesperson for the Egyptian Drug Authority (EDA) Ali Al-Ghamrawy said the authority approved the AstraZeneca vaccine on Saturday.

The vaccine was authorized after going through necessary evaluation process at the EDA's departments and laboratories in accordance with the global and local rules used to ensure the safety, quality and efficacy of the vaccine, he said Sunday in a statement.

On Jan. 3, Egypt licensed the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Sinopharm for emergency use, and has started vaccinating medical staff nationwide with the Chinese vaccine.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, Egypt and China have been cooperating closely in the fight against the pandemic through medical aid and expertise exchanges.