China's CoronaVac vaccine completely safe: Azerbaijani acting health minister

BAKU, May 6 (Xinhua) -- Azerbaijan's acting health minister Teymur Musayev on Thursday hailed the CoronaVac vaccine made by China's biopharmaceutical company Sinovac Biotech as fully safe.

Speaking at a press briefing of the operational headquarters for COVID-19 prevention and control, Musayev said that 1.6 million people in the country have got their first dose of the Chinese-made vaccine so far, while 600,000 people have received both.

He said Azerbaijan enrolled the CoronaVac vaccine for mass vaccination, describing it as "completely safe."

Infection cases among those who received both doses were minor, he said.

"We embark on a new phase of vaccination against COVID-19 in Azerbaijan from May 10 that will enable citizens above 18 to be vaccinated. This means we now have sufficient quantities of the jab," Musayev said.

Azerbaijan launched the mass vaccination in January.