Turkey provides Libya with 150,000 doses of Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine

TRIPOLI -- Libya's Ministry of Health on Wednesday announced receiving 150,000 doses of the Chinese COVID-19 vaccine Sinovac from Turkey.

The ministry said the batch was provided within the framework of mutual cooperation between Libya and Turkey.

So far, Libya has received a total of 400,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Libyan Government, which urged the people to register online to receive the vaccine.

Libya's National Center for Disease Control on April 10 started a vaccination campaign against COVID-19 in the capital Tripoli, with Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah and Health Minister Ali Zanati being the first persons to get the jabs in the country.

According to Ali Zanati, vaccination priority will be given to medical staff treating COVID-19 patients inside isolation units, followed by the elderly with chronic diseases, and then medical workers in different hospitals and medical centers.

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Libya so far is 170,045, including 155,117 recoveries and 2,834 fatalities, according to the Libyan National Center.