Long Lines, Mixed Message As Egypt's Vaccine Rollout Sputters Inside Qattameya's medical center in Cairo on the first day of vaccination in Egypt in March 2021 - Fadel Dawod/NurPhoto via ZUMA Press Only about 150,000 of the country's 100 million people have been vaccinated so far against COVID-19, and in some crowded health centers, people wait hours only to be turned away. 2021-04-07 CAIRO — Vaccine centers across Egypt have witnessed long wait times, insufficient supply and bureaucratic procedures that have made it difficult for many to secure shots to boost their immunity against COVID-19. At one Cairo hospital, a Mada Masr correspondent witnessed the long lines first-hand, and Doctors Syndicate council member Ibrahim al-Zayat said that the alarming overcrowding situation is worst in the more densely populated areas of Upper Egypt and Cairo.