Bolivia to receive 500,000 doses of vaccine from China

A special plane of the Bolivian national airline is making its way to bring Sinopharm's coronavirus vaccines from China to its homeland, President Luis Arce has announced.

"We report that a [Boliviana de Aviacion] Boeing 767 plane is heading to Beijing to bring half a million Sinopharm vaccines to our country," Arce tweeted on Monday. "We appreciate President Xi Jinping's support in fighting the pandemic."

The South American country has recorded more than 243,000 COVID-19 cases and nearly 11,500 related deaths, according to the latest data by its Health Ministry.

The country already began inoculation in late January with the first batch of 20,000 Russian Sputnik V vaccines, with health workers being prioritized.

According to the ministry, 210 health workers have received second doses of the vaccine, 21 days after the first one.

Bolivia is also part of the UN's COVAX facility meant to deliver vaccines to poorer countries. It is included in the list of 10 countries which will receive vaccines free of charge "due to their economic condition or population size."