Iraq gets 336,000 vaccine doses through UN initiative

A vehicle containing a shipment of the AstraZeneca vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is seen at Baghdad International Airport, in Baghdad, Iraq March 25, 2021. (Reuters)

A man shows a box containing the AstraZeneca vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at Baghdad International Airport, in Baghdad, Iraq March 25, 2021. (Reuters)

• The country of 40 million inhabitants that has been ravaged by decades of war launched vaccinations at the start of March
• With a state budget that has yet to be agreed, Baghdad has remained dependent on donations

BAGHDAD: Iraq received 336,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine Thursday through the UN's Covax programme, in the second delivery for the Arab state worst hit by the coronavirus epidemic.
The country of 40 million inhabitants that has been ravaged by decades of war launched vaccinations at the start of March with 50,000 Sinopharm jabs donated by China.
With a state budget that has yet to be agreed, Baghdad has remained dependent on donations such as the doses of South Korean-manufactured AstraZeneca vaccine flown in under the Covax-programme for the world's poorer countries.
Covid-19 cases in Iraq have soared, with a new record of 6,513 new confirmed infections in 24 hours, including 33 deaths, registered on Thursday.
Officially, 815,605 cases and 14,128 deaths have been recorded in Iraq, whose health ministry has yet to be allocated a budget.