**19. The situation in Egypt and the governmental efforts to control the COVID-19 transmission**

Here in the next few lines, we summarize the situation of COVID-19 statistics in Egypt and focus on the efforts and actions of the Egyptian government to regulate and halt the COVID-19 transmission.

To date (August 2022), over 515,198 confirmed laboratory cases have been detected with more than ~24,786 deaths in Egypt, according to the official website of the Egyptian MOH (https://www.care.Gov.eg/Egypt Care/index.aspx accessed August, 2022).

The decreased incidence of COVID-19 in Egypt does not match the reality. The recorded number of the infected cases depended only on the laboratory-confirmed cases; however, many Egyptians have been infected with SARS-CoV-2 and have been homelily isolated till recovery without performing the COVID-19 test. The decreased incidence in Egypt may be related to the large population, minimal screening testing, warmth and humidity, and use of the bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccination. Host genetic alteration has also been shown to influence indigenous Africans' resistance to a range of infectious diseases [121]. The appearance of SARS-CoV-2 strains are raising high public health problem owing to their high transmission rate, higher pathogenicity, and in some cases, ability to infect vaccinated people (vaccine breakthrough). The risk of death is increased significantly with age [122, 123] and


#### **Figure 4.**

*The protocol for the treatment of COVID-19 patients approved by the MOH [126].*

*Therapeutic Interventions for COVID-19 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.111543*

comorbidities (cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and chronic lung disease) [6, 124]. Patients with one or more comorbidities had low survival rates [125].

The Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population (MOH) has built a hotline service to help persons in need of medical advice. The Egyptian government has launched a huge disinfection program using chlorine-containing disinfectants as lipid solvents that targeted all squares, workplaces, and touristic spots. The standard of care treatment strategy for COVID-19 patients has been approved by the Egyptian Ministry of Health (**Figure 4**) [127]. The Egyptian Ministry of Health has advised that mild and possibly moderate cases can be handled at home.

Egypt has been receiving nine approved anti-COVID-19 vaccines since December 2020 including Moderna (mRNA-1273), Pfizer/BioNTech(BNT162b2), Gamaleya (Sputnik Light), Janssen (Johnson & Johnson): (Ad26.COV2.S), Sinovac(CoronaVac), Sinopharm (BBIBP-CorV), AstraZeneca vaccine, and Sputnik V. Priority categories for vaccination include (A) health care workers in quarantine, fever, and chest hospitals, (B) immunocompromised patients, and the elderly, and (C) eventually all people over the age of 18. Egypt has begun the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines as of March 2021. It was estimated that the percentage of fully vaccinated individual is 19.8% while the percentage with at least one dose is 31.8% [128]. In developing countries, the application of strict regulations to halt the viral transmission is difficult due to human overpopulation, so it is mandatory to highlight the importance of boosting the host immunity.

## **20. Conclusion**

COVID-19 patients are characterized by lymphopenia and elevated cytokine levels, which could be used as indicators for disease progression. COVID-19 has immunological profiles that can lead to microbial infection and various organ failures. As a result, improving lymphopenia and decreasing inflammation may be helpful therapeutic methods for COVID-19 patients. Currently, antiviral drugs and immunotherapies are two principal therapeutic approaches for COVID-19, whereas vaccines are still considered the most effective strategy to get rid of this virus. COVID-19 vaccine advancements are encouraging because this is the first time vaccine development has moved so quickly. Vaccinology-based research advances have assured that the most crucial public health intervention is created in a timely manner. Researchers and clinicians still need to perform better planned controlled clinical trials and collect more biological samples to better understand host immune responses to pathogens and their implications for the treatment of patients.
