China sends COVID-19 vaccine to Syria

DAMASCUS, April 24 (Xinhua) -- Syria on Saturday received a batch of Chinese-manufactured COVID-19 vaccines offered by the Chinese government.

Syrian Health Minister Hasan al-Ghabash and Deputy Foreign Minister Bashar al-Jaafari as well as Chinese ambassador to Syria Feng Biao have attended the reception ceremony at the international airport of the capital Damascus.

Boxes of the vaccines were unloaded at the runway while the officials were checking on them.

Al-Ghabash said the long cooperation between China and Syria was crowned with the delivery of the COVID-19 vaccines, "which has passed the three testing phases and has been proven to be effective and safe."

The minister also expressed gratitude and thanks to the Chinese government for their ongoing support to Syria and the distinctive relations, which he hopes to continue for the interests of both countries and peoples.

For his side, Feng said that sending the vaccine is a tangible step in delivering on the China's promise to make the Chinese vaccine a global public product.

"We are confident that it will help Syria to build a defense line against the pandemic and play a positive role in protecting the Syrian people and restoring normal life," the ambassador said.

Syrian health officials said the priority of giving the vaccine will be for the medical workers and elderlies as well as people suffering from chronic illnesses.

The COVID-19 cases in Syria are on the rise due to the severity of the third wave of the virus. According to Syrian Health Ministry, the total number of COVID-19 cases discovered in the country is 21,864, including 15,551 recoveries and 1510 deaths.