Bolivia purchase of 6 million Chinese Sinopharm vaccines

Bolivian President Luis Arce on Wednesday announced the purchase of six million COVID-19 vaccines from China's Sinopharm after the country received only a quarter of what it had ordered from other vaccine manufacturers.

"Between July and August, the country will be able to rely on these supplies, which are essential to accelerate the process of mass vaccination nationwide, " said Arce during a televised press conference.

The first arrival of vaccines will be on 10 July, he said. After that, he said, the country will receive one million doses every ten days.

Bolivia's vaccination campaign started slowly because of vaccine shortages and misinformation campaigns.

According to a Johns Hopkins University count, fewer than 6% of Bolivia's population is fully vaccinated.

The country has reported a total of 16,767 deaths, the university said.