General Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi’s photo of his vaccination against coronavirus sparked widespread ridicule among Egyptians on social media. The Ministry of Health was forced later to delete the photo from its accounts.

Sisi appeared sitting on a chair in the presidential palace, revealing his arm without wearing a face mask. Next to Sisi a doctor stood, bending towards him, not holding anything in his hands, trying to pretend that he was giving the vaccine to Sisi.

Egyptian activists revealed the deception, accusing Al-Sisi of only wanting a show, pointing out that the authorities were accustomed to lying to them. Activists speculated over why Sisi did this and why he did not actually receive the vaccine as the other world leaders did.

Activists released pictures of the presidents of the United States, Britain, and Canada receiving the vaccine inside hospitals, wondering: “Why does the entire hospital go to Sisi in his palace?” Activists also asked about the type of vaccine that Sisi obtained, was it the Chinese Sinopharm or AstraZeneca, available to all Egyptians? Or did he have for himself one of the most effective vaccines such as Pfizer and Moderna? Last Sunday, Al-Sisi’s office said that the Egyptian president received a vaccine as part of a nationwide vaccination campaign, but without mentioning details of the type of vaccine.

Egypt began administering doses of the COVID-19 vaccine produced by AstraZeneca, according to the global Kovacs agreement to provide vaccines to low income countries and doses of a vaccine produced by the Chinese company Sinopharm.